A sensational albatross two gave Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey's second round at the European Challenge Tour's Dutch Futures a lethal injection of adrenaline to propel the Belfast man into second place on the clubhouse leaderboard.

Hoey, level par after seven holes, hit a great drive down the par five eighth fairway before producing a perfect six iron that landed softly and rolled straight into the cup. That took Hoey to three under for his round, a score he managed to maintain until the end of the day, giving him a second consecutive 69 and a halfway total of six under 138 – one stroke behind England's Chris Gane and the Australian Andrew Tampion.
 
Hoey, currently 31st on the Challenge Tour Rankings with just four events remaining, needs a big finish in the next few weeks as he attempts to regain his European Tour card via the top 20 on the final Rankings.
 
"A win would be very nice at this time of the year and given the position I am in," said Hoey at the Golf Club Houtrak on the outskirts of Amsterdam.
 
"It has been a strange year of inconsistency for me. I have won and done well in some big events but then have had my fair share of bad form as well, but I still have a chance of winning my card and I don't care how I do it, as long as I can get over the line."
 
Other Irishmen in Holland – Colm Moriarty and Peter O'Keeffe – look likely to miss the halfway cut when the weather-delayed second round resumes this morning (Saturday).