KEY POINTS:
Australian Matthew Millar pitched in from 33m at the 18th hole to grab a share of the lead after the second round of the Andalucia Open golf.
Millar's unexpected birdie three gave him a three-under-par 69 for an eight-under total of 136, level with Swede Peter Hedblom (67) who chipped in twice. The pair led by a stroke from Britons David Lynn and Robert Dinwiddie, who also produced some fireworks at the Aloha Golf Club, and Frenchman Thomas Levet.
Lynn chipped in for an eagle on his way to a 67 while rookie Dinwiddie posted a 65 which included a putt of nearly 15m for one of his eight birdies. Levet was denied a share of the lead when he bogeyed his last hole for a 68.
Title holder and first-round leader Lee Westwood (73) also suffered on the undulating 18th green and his bogey at the last dropped him back to a share of sixth place on 138. After rolling a 2m birdie chance 45cm past the cup, Westwood's return lipped out.
"I probably deserved better than a 73 but you get days like that," Westwood said. "It would have been nice to two putt from six feet at the end."
Millar's last-hole bonus put him at the top of a European Tour leaderboard for the first time.
"I'm pretty excited by the last couple of weeks," he said.
"I finished 10th last week in Madeira and things are coming together. I've been trying to make swing changes because I don't have the most perfect swing. My backswing is pretty similar to [world No 9] Jim Furyk's, all over the place but I've not been getting his results."
Hedblom is back in the hunt after coming close to winning this month's Malaysian Open. The Swede fought a bad cold as well as the undulating course.
"I have a bad cold and feel really weak," said Hedblom. "Sometimes I couldn't even breathe walking up the hills and I had to send my wife off for an inhaler I'd forgotten. My putting hasn't been good and I have about 70 putters I've tried but today my good putting was the key."
Amateur Danny Willett of Britain, who had opened with a 66, slumped to a second-round 75. New Zealander Gareth Paddison is on 144.
