Golf/Portuguese Open: Kilkenny's Gary Murphy is well placed to launch a serious challenge for the title after yesterday's second round of the Portuguese Open.

A three-under-par 68, which included just one dropped shot, added to an opening 69 left Murphy on five under par, just three shots off the lead.

Former English Ryder Cup player Paul Broadhurst carded a flawless 66 to share the halfway lead with Portugal's Jose-Filipe Lima on eight under par, one shot ahead of another English Ryder Cup player, Barry Lane, and fellow Englishman Simon Dyson.

Lane returned a 67 while Dyson set a course record with a superb 64 as the players made the most of the calmer conditions at the Quinta da Marinha course on Portugal's Atlantic coast.

Wexford's Damien McGrane also had a good day, firing a second consecutive 70 to lie on two under par, while Peter Lawrie was on level par after a second-round 70.

But Philip Walton, with a second 75, and Stephen Browne, who recovered from an opening 81 to add a 74 yesterday, were well outside the cut that fell at two over par.

Broadhurst, who was unbeaten on his sole Ryder Cup appearance at Kiawah Island in 1991, has not won a tour title since the French Open in 1995.

But the 39-year-old enjoyed his best season since 1999 last year and can take encouragement from Lane's victory after a decade-long wait in the British Masters in 2004.

"There was less wind and it was straight into you today, whereas yesterday every shot was into a crosswind which is a nightmare, especially round here where there is a lot of trouble," said Broadhurst, who struggled for several years after suffering a serious hand injury in Dubai in 2000.

"I was hitting it awful in the pro-am on Wednesday, everything was going right and I couldn't see how I was going to get it round.

"But I came up early on Thursday and hit some balls before I went out and tried not to worry about it. I did some work with my mental coach, John Pates, and he just tried to get me to relax a bit because I was too uptight. He's earned his money this week."

Dyson's course-record 64 included seven birdies and an eagle, with the Yorkshireman covering the front nine in just 30 shots.

The former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner narrowly missed out on a play-off for the Heineken Classic in Australia earlier this year and feels a maiden tour title is now overdue.

"I think so," said the 27-year-old. "If I play like that I have a decent chance."

Surprise package Lima looked like leading on his own after firing seven birdies in 16 holes but became the latest victim of the treacherous 18th and had to settle for a 65.

The 23-year-old was born in Versailles and represented France until the end of last season when he adopted his Portuguese parents' nationality and changed his name from Philippe to Jose-Filipe.

He won his first career title on the Challenge Tour in 2004 and followed that up a week later with victory in the St Omer Open, a joint-sanctioned event between the Challenge and main tour.

"It's purely for my family," said Lima when asked about his decision. "I love this country and I think it is important to play for your family. My father has supported me a lot. He loves golf and worked on the golf course for 37 years."

Pre-tournament favourite Nick Dougherty also stumbled over the closing stretch for the second day running, carding a double bogey on the 17th and bogey on the 18th.

(British unless stated, Irish in bold)

134 - P Broadhurst 68 66, J-F Lima (Por) 69 65.

135 - B Lane 68 67, S Dyson 71 64.

136 - C Monasterio (Arg) 69 67, I Garbutt 70 66, S Little 69 67, P Lawrie 69 67.

137 - Gary Murphy 69 68, C Schwartzel (Rsa) 72 65, I Garrido (Spa) 71 66, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 67 70, T Moore (Rsa) 67 70, S Scahill (Nzl) 67 70, S Dodd 68 69.

138 - R Sterne (Rsa) 71 67, S Gallacher 70 68, A Forsyth 69 69, N Cheetham 67 71, R Chapman 71 67, H Nystrom (Swe) 70 68, D Gilford 71 67.

139 - D Park 73 66, G Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 71 68, N Dougherty 72 67, L Westerberg (Swe) 69 70, M Siem (Ger) 72 67, J Lomas 68 71.

140 - C Rodiles (Spa) 71 69, S Little 72 68, Damien McGrane 70 70, R Russell 70 70, J-F Remesy (Fra) 70 70, S Hurd 71 69.

141 - N Fasth (Swe) 70 71, P Sjoland (Swe) 71 70, K Eriksson (Swe) 70 71, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 68, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 72, S Wakefield 72 69, P Baker 70 71.

142 - S Webster 71 71, P Golding 73 69, J Axgren (Swe) 72 70, Peter Lawrie 72 70, M Maritz (Rsa) 76 66, V Phillips 73 69, B Dredge 73 69, K Ferrie 71 71.

143 - J-F Lucquin (Fra) 72 71, R Bland 72 71, D Griffiths 74 69, J Skold (Swe) 75 68, M Foster 73 70, J-A Larsen (Nor) 74 69, S Manley 72 71, D Carter 72 71, J Bickerton 71 72, B Mason 69 74, J Donaldson 75 68, G Canizares (Spa) 75 68, H Rey (Arg) 77 66. 144 - P Hanson (Swe) 74 70, S Torrance 73 71, JM Lara (Spa) 74 70, G Houston 72 72, M Blackey 73 71, A Cruse (Rsa) 73 71, S Ribeiro (Por) 74 70, S Struver (Ger) 72 72, N Zitny (Aut) 74 70, M Brier (Aut) 65 79, P Archer 73 71, G Emerson 73 71, F Henge (Swe) 72 72.

Missed cut: 145 - C Cevaer (Fra) 71 74, R Rock 73 72, M Erlandsson (Swe) 71 74, S Drummond 73 72, G Havret (Fra) 72 73, J Van de Velde (Fra) 70 75, A Wall 75 70, S Luna (Spa) 72 73, T Whitehouse 74 71. 146 - J Sandelin (Swe) 74 72, G Brand Jnr 76 70, F Delamontagne (Fra) 74 72, S Hansen (Den) 75 71, R Muntz (Ned) 71 75, A McLardy (Rsa) 77 69, P Gustafsson (Swe) 77 69, S Khan 72 74, G Bourdy (Fra) 74 72, R Coles 79 67, R Finch 75 71. 147 - D Drysdale 76 71, R Karlsson (Swe) 76 71, I Giner (Spa) 72 75, M Eliasson (Swe) 78 69, J Backstrom (Swe) 74 73, (x) T Cruz (Por) 78 69, J Spence 78 69, M King 74 73, G Evans 73 74, M Jonzon (Swe) 74 73, M Cayeux (Zim) 75 72. 148 - A Sobrinho (Por) 76 72, S O'Hara 77 71, C Hanell (Swe) 76 72, E Canonica (Ita) 74 74. 149 - G Storm 77 72, M Tunnicliff 75 74, M Olander (Swe) 79 70, S Fernandez (Arg) 77 72, F Molinari (Ita) 79 70, N Campino (Por) 76 73. 150 - O Wilson 78 72, M Florioli (Ita) 75 75, B Teilleria (Fra) 76 74, (x) P Figueiredo (Por) 76 74, P Edberg (Swe) 75 75, Philip Walton 75 75. 151 - H Paulino (Por) 77 74, L Brovold (Nor) 75 76, D Lynn 78 73, L Slattery 76 75, A Dantas Da Silva (Por) 81 70, G Jones (US) 75 76. 152 - M Bernardini (Ita) 80 72, (x) F Calmels (Fra) 74 78, T Price (Aus) 73 79, (x) S Castro (Por) 78 74, M Roe 73 79, M Ilonen (Fin) 78 74, A Mednick (Swe) 73 79. 153 - H Santos (Por) 78 75, F Roca (Spa) 73 80, A Marshall 81 72, G Baruffaldi (Ita) 81 72. 154 - D Robertson 78 76, R-J Derksen (Ned) 81 73, A Maestroni (Ita) 80 74, N Colsaerts (Bel) 82 72. 155 - (x) A Rosado (Por) 82 73, Stephen Browne 81 74, A Coltart 77 78, A Tadini (Ita) 79 76. 156 - M Sanders 80 76, P Hedblom (Swe) 79 77. 157 - R Ballesteros (Spa) 82 75. 159 - (x) R Santos (Por) 78 81. 160 - JP Carvalhosa (Por) 87 73. 161 - M McLean 83 78. 162 - J Dias (Por) 82 80. Withdrawn: A Oldcorn.