Late run of birdies help Finch remain in contention

However, Finch could at least be pleased with the way he recovered, having suffered a triple-bogey on the third and a double-bogey on the seventh, before recording five birdies on the back nine to salvage his round.

Australian Brett Rumford claimed a three-shot lead after a blistering second round but world No 1 Lee Westwood continued to struggle.

Rumford, well off the pace with a 71 on the opening day, went round in 63, with five birdies on the opening nine and a strong finish marked by two more on the 17th and 18th.

The man from Perth, who won the last of his three European Tour titles at the Omega European Masters in 2007, hopes for a chance to make up for last year, when he fell just short in second place.

He said: “I think the difference between today and yesterday is just the wind out there. It was a lot calmer and obviously a lot easier to control the ball coming into these very firm greens.”

Rumford’s was the best round by three shots, the 66 managed by Soren Kjeldsen moving him into a share of second place on seven under par with Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Westwood, who took over the world No 1 ranking again last week, could only manage a 68, albeit a considerable improvement on an opening 72.

Westwood got off to a good start with an opening birdie, but gave the shot back on the third hole before back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth.

There were also bogeys on the 13th and 16th as he struggled for consistency. It left him in a six-way tie for 11th place.

Ireland’s Damien McGraine, the overnight leader on 66, could not come close to matching that, three bogeys leaving him with a 72. That put him into a three-way tie for fourth with Welshman Rhys Davies and England’s James Morrison on six under par.

Park Sang-hyan, who had been tied for second with Finch, also had a par 72.

Luke Donald quickly recovered from his disappointment at missing out on the world No 1 spot last weekend with an encouraging first day at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Donald birdied the par-five second and also picked up a shot at the fifth, and consecutive birdies on the last two holes ensured he finished four under in a group of players tied for ninth.

He was two shots behind joint leaders Bubba Watson and Matt Jones. Watson bogeyed the par-four first but picked up four birdies on the front nine and he followed that with a birdie at 10, an eagle at the par-five 11th and another birdie at 16, with a bogey at 14 leaving him six under par.