Madrid Open Leading scores:Rory McIlroy got his bid for a first European Tour title back on track with a second-round 68 in the Madrid Open.

Despite playing in only his third event as a professional, McIlroy had set his sights on a maiden victory following his superb third place in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Sunday.

The 18-year-old from Northern Ireland could only manage a first-round 73 in blustery conditions at Club de Campo on the outskirts of Madrid on Thursday, eight shots adrift of pacesetter Daniel Vancsik of Argentina.

But the former European amateur champion had not given up hope of forcing himself into contention if he could take advantage of more favourable conditions for the early starters, and after a slow start fired six birdies and two bogeys in his 68.

It took McIlroy 26 holes to register his first birdie of the tournament, hitting a six-iron to 10ft on the 17th, his ninth hole of the day.

But he followed that with three more in a row from two, 20 and three feet respectively, and missed a good chance to make it five in a row when his attempt from three feet on the third caught the edge of the hole and span out.

"I still missed a few chances out there, but I'm happy with a 68 and I'm in for the weekend," said McIlroy.

"The greens were definitely not as spiked up this morning as they were yesterday afternoon and it was pretty much perfect conditions. I'm happy with where I am at the moment going into the final two rounds."

And Jean Van de Velde became the latest member of the McIlroy fan club after moving into contention for a third European Tour title in the Madrid Open.

Van de Velde was paired with McIlroy for the first two rounds, and, although he outscored the teenager by four shots, was highly impressed with the Ulster youngster.

"He was very impressive," said Van de Velde, who carded a second-round 66 for a seven-under total of 137, two shots behind joint leaders Alejandro Canizares and Daniel Vancsik.

"He has got all the shots in the bag and he is not scared to play them. He is also a great character and a lovely young man. There's no doubt he can play the game; you don't finish third last week (in the Dunhill Links Championship) over those three golf courses without having something special."

Van de Velde only returned to action last month after several months blighted by a mystery illness. The former Ryder Cup player was finally diagnosed with a virus which left him exhausted and in pain after physical activity.

"I stopped taking medication just before I came back to play in Switzerland and, touch wood, everything is okay," he said.

The presence of Spain's Canizares on the leaderboard gave the sparse crowds something to cheer, even if most of the gallery seemed to be members of his family anyway.

"They have been following me and cheering every shot," Canizares said. "I don't really feel pressure from that, if anything it makes it a little easier knowing that there are people wishing for it to go your way.

"I was born here, my parents were born here but I consider myself from Malaga."( Irish in bold, British unless stated, par 72)

135 - D Vancsik (Arg) 65 70, A Canizares (Spn) 69 66. 136 - G Lockerbie 68 68. 137 - F Valera (Spn) 70 67, J Van de Velde (Fra) 71 66. 138 - E Canonica (Ita) 68 70, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 69. 139 - M Quiros (Spn) 72 67. 140 - J-F Remesy (Fra) 71 69, P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 70, G Bourdy (Fra) 71 69, G Fdez-Castano (Spn) 71 69. 141 - Rory McIlroy (N Ire) 73 68, J Kingston (Rsa) 76 65. 142 - S Kapur (Ind) 72 70, B Barham 71 71, M Kaymer (Ger) 67 75, JM Lara (Spn) 72 70, J-F Lima (Por) 66 76, ET Johansen (Nor) 72 70, T Bjorn (Den) 74 68, S Luna (Spn) 75 67. 143 - J Backstrom (Swe) 73 70, C Nilsson (Swe) 73 70, C Hanell (Swe) 70 73, J Bickerton 74 69, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 74 69, A Wall 75 68, S Walker 71 72, C Suneson (Spn) 75 68, S Struver (Ger) 69 74, S Little 72 71, M Fraser (Aus) 75 68. 144 - D Carter 71 73, A Tampion (Aus) 71 73, M Richardson 72 72, M Siem (Ger) 73 71, D Park 73 71, C Rodiles (Spn) 71 73, A Marshall 70 74, M Jonzon (Swe) 74 70, R Cabrera Bello (Spn) 72 72. 145 - F Andersson Hed (Swe) 75 70, H Nystrom (Swe) 74 71, D Drysdale 72 73, L Slattery 73 72, Damien McGrane (Ire) 71 74. Others: 146 - Peter Lawrie 71 75 (Ire). 147 - Graeme McDowell (N Ire) 74 73.