Matt Wallace remains in the thick of the hunt at the Alps Tour Grand Final but had more of a battle in his second round and is in a share of second place going into the second half of the tournament in Italy.

The Moor Park professional lit up yesterday’s opening round at Miglianico Golf and Country Club with a sparkling course record-equalling round of 63 to lead by one overnight.

The 26-year-old fired another under-par score of 70 today, but is now in a five-way tie for second on nine-under-par, one shot behind Spain’s David Morago.

The Pinner-based professional, who won five consecutive Alps Tour events this year and has yet to finish outside the top four in the other three tournaments he’s played on the European satellite tour, turned in a level-par 36 after birdies on the fourth and seventh were cancelled out by dropped shots on two and eight.

A third birdie of the round arrived on 12 before he made a third bogey on 13, but he picked up another shot on 14 to stay firmly in the mix for a sixth Alps Tour triumph in 2016.