Des Smyth was left to rue bogeys on the 16th and 17th hole as he signed for a second round of 72 at The Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy, Seniors Tour Championship at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club, where Argentina's Adan Sowa leads Scotland's John Chillas by one shot in the final European Seniors Tour event of 2007.
In testing, windy conditions in south-east England, Smyth eagled the second hole, but it was to prove a rare highlight in a battling round, after which he was left tied for 19th place after 36 holes of the tournament.
The 54 year old said: "I didn't play well. I got off to a great start with the eagle and had lots of opportunities, but I didn't take them, and to finish like I did was poor."
The other Irish challengers - Denis O'Sullivan and Eamonn Darcy - shot 77 and 80 respectively to finish on four over par 148 and 13 over par 157.
The leader, Sowa, shot a three-under-par 69 to finish on a 36 hole total of eight-under-par 136. His playing partner Chillas added a two under par 70 to close out on seven under par 137.
Bill Longmuir is tied for third spot with Spain's Juan Quiros, on five under par 139.
English amateur Gary Boyd upstaged a host of professionals as he surged into second place after the third round of stage two of the European Tour's qualifying school.
Boyd, third in this year's European Amateur championship in Berlin, fired a five-under 67 for an eight-under total of 208 and lies five strokes behind runaway leader Sion Bebb of Wales.
Bebb, the 39-year-old who finished fourth in this season's Omega European Masters but still lost his card after coming 155th on the money list, posted a 70.
Boyd's former England team-mate Seve Benson and Irish amateur Peter O'Keeffe are on course to progress to next week's final stage on five under but Scott Henderson, the 1997 European Tour rookie of the year, is out of the race on six over.
At Ballena Damien Mooney is on course to qualify for the final qualifying after a third-round 71 left him in a share of ninth place behind amateur leader Adrien Bernadet of France. Gareth Maybin, who will form part of the Irish team for the World Cup in China later this month, slipped to a 74 and is three strokes outside the all-important top-19.
