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Newport - Unheralded Welshman Liam Bond took advantage of his late call-up to snatch the lead after the second round of the Wales Open on Friday.
Bond is ranked 1,528th in the world and only received a phone call telling him he was in the 1.8 million event at Celtic Manor on Wednesday afternoon.
But the 43-year-old has made the most of his opportunity with rounds of 69 and 68 to move five under par for the tournament, one shot clear of overnight leader Espen Kofstad and South African Tjaart van der Walt.
Norway's Kofstad could only add a second-round 74 to his opening 64 to finish four under, one ahead of playing partner and European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, who carded four birdies and two bogeys in a 69.
England's Graeme Storm was alongside McGinley on three under after a round of 68.
Bond, who lives just minutes away from Celtic Manor, won his European Tour card on his 16th visit to the qualifying school in 2010 but was unable to retain it after finishing 191st on the Order of Merit in 2011.
Since then he has concentrated largely on regional events, winning three this season, and missed the cut in his only Challenge Tour event of 2013 in Scotland in June.
"I'm playing way better than when I had my card in 2011," said Bond, whose career earnings are around 100 000.
"If I was on tour this year I would be loving it but I put myself under a lot of pressure when I was on the tour. I was trying to work harder and hit more balls and everything was under close scrutiny.
"I feel my game is still pretty good and I only found out I was playing on Wednesday afternoon so I didn't have any time to over-prepare like I have done in the past. The pressure is off because I'm not trying to keep my card. I'm just trying to play and enjoy it.
"I only live 10 minutes down the road so it's nice to be so close to home. I was at St Pierre on Wednesday when I got the call; my daughter Daisy was looking for one of my shots in the rough. I'll be at home with my slippers on tonight and a nice cup of tea."
Selected scores from the second round of the Wales Open at Celtic Manor on Friday (GBR and IRL unless stated, par 71):
137 - Liam Bond 69 68
138 - Tjaart Van Der Walt (RSA) 67 71, Espen Kofstad (NOR) 64 74
139 - Peter Uihlein (USA) 69 70, Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 67 72, Paul McGinley 70 69, Rafael Cabrera Bello (ESP) 71 68, Graeme Storm 72 67
140 - John Parry 71 69, Alexander Levy (FRA) 71 69
141 - Damien McGrane 70 71, Chris Wood 66 75, Joost Luiten (NED) 73 68, Mikko Korhonen (FIN) 71 70, Johan Edfors (SWE) 72 69, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 70 71, Brett Rumford (AUS) 72 69, Robert Rock 68 73, Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) 71 70
142 - Christian Cevaer (FRA) 70 72, Ross Fisher 71 71, Anders Hansen (DEN) 71 71, Paul Waring 72 70, Robert Coles 69 73, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (IND) 72 70, Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 70 72, Richard Green (AUS) 66 76, Justin Walters (RSA) 71 71, Mark Foster 67 75, Christopher Doak 72 70, Julien Quesne (FRA) 73 69, Thomas Levet (FRA) 75 67
143 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 69 74, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 69 74, Matthew Nixon 72 71, Rhys Enoch 73 70, Chris Paisley 74 69, Jose Manuel Lara (ESP) 73 70, Oliver Fisher 71 72, Brooks Koepka (USA) 72 71, David Drysdale 70 73, Andrew Marshall 71 72, Alexandre Kaleka (FRA) 71 72
144 - Craig Lee 77 67, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 69 75, Mark Tullo (CHI) 74 70, Jorge Campillo (ESP) 71 73, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 72 72, Simon Wakefield 70 74, Anthony Snobeck (FRA) 73 71, Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 68 76, Felipe Aguilar (CHI) 72 72, David Higgins 74 70, Andreas Harto (DEN) 72 72
145 - Peter Erofejeff (FIN) 71 74, Soren Hansen (DEN) 72 73, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 72 73, Michael Jonzon (SWE) 71 74, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (ESP) 70 75, Simon Dyson 76 69, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 71 74
146 - Richard Bland 75 71, Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 72 74, Gareth Maybin 71 75, Scott Arnold (AUS) 72 74, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 74 72, Ricardo Santos (POR) 70 76, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 71 75, Matthew Baldwin 74 72, Scott Jamieson 74 72, Seve Benson 76 70, Romain Wattel (FRA) 72 74, Eddie Pepperell 77 69
