Three’s the magic number for Brits at El Saler

Five British players all sit on three under par at the halfway mark of the Second Stage of The European Tour Qualifying School at Campo de Golf El Saler amidst tough playing conditions.

The harsh scoring environment of day one in Spain persisted, as overnight leader - Jean-Pierre Verselin - posted a five over par 77, to drop to two over par cumulatively.

The five leading Brits all took advantage of the Frenchman’s poor day, with Englishmen Chris Lloyd, James Ablett and Simon Griffiths carding three under par 69s to back up their opening day level par 72s.

Welshman Garry Houston shot a one under par 71 to jump up one place on the leaderboard and share the lead with his British Isles colleagues.

However it was the Scottish co-leader, Wallace Booth, who benefited from the conditions the most as his four under par 68 carried him to the three under par mark.

Only ten players, all of whom currently sit within the qualification places, are under par at the half way stage of the event.

The number of qualifying spots available to the Final Stage from the field at El Saler is 17, with 68 progressing across all four events.

The Final Stage – which returns to European Tour Destination, PGA Catalunya Resort - will ultimately allocate the 25 European Tour cards that are on offer for Qualifying School hopefuls.