Conor Purcell missed the cut for the sixth time in eight events as his difficult start to life on the DP World Tour continued at the Hero Indian Open.
Purcell was up against it after an opening 75 at DLF G&CC in New Delhi and he missed out on weekend golf for the third successive week with a second round of 80.
Double bogeys proved costly for the 27-year-old who carded two in each round including a bogey, double bogey finish to his second round.
Purcell covered each nine in 40 strokes to finish on eleven-over-par with his only birdie of the day coming on the 15th while there were five bogeys thrown into another messy card.
At the top, ex LIV golfer Eugenio Chacarra shares the lead with Keita Nakajima on four-under after both players carded rounds of 70 and 66 respectively.
They share a two shot cushion over five players including Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jens Dantorp, Andrea Pavan, Matthew Jordan and Joost Luiten.
Nakajima made a huge move in the right direction in the afternoon, turning in 29 after carding seven birdies and no bogeys on the front nine.
He then mixed two birdies with three bogeys and produced some wonderful par saves on the homeward nine to head into the weekend on four under par alongside Chacarra after the pair had taken it in turns to lead for much of the afternoon.
Spain’s Chacarra made six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
Nakajima said: “It was a great day and also it was so fun. Two rounds, so yeah, two more days.
“So my mindset changed. This is a tough course but a fun course. Me and my caddie were talking about playing it like a fun course. Just keep patient, and keep smiling. That was good.
“Maybe I will feel a little nervous tomorrow morning but I will try playing with a smile and also have fun. That’d be great.”
Chacarra started at the tenth tee and made a hat-trick of gains at the 11th, 12th and 13th before holing from three feet on the 15th to move to six under.
A double bogey at the 17th stalled his progress but he got the shots back with birdies on the 18th and third respectively after first producing a delightful chip and then sending his tee-shot to tap-in range.
But back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth saw Chacarra finish the day on four under.
“Obviously it was tough. The afternoon wave in a course like this is going to be tougher and the wind picked up I think pretty much all day but it was tough.
“Obviously really pleased with the result. I think I started really good but I think I left some out there to be honest.
“I’m just trying to have fun. I know this course is a test for everyone and one bad swing hits you hard. So I’m happy with the result but obviously it’s only Friday. Really excited for hopefully a good weekend.”
There were two holes-in-one on Friday as Joel Girrbach holed his tee-shot at the par-three 12th before Justin Harding got his ace at the fifth.
