Matt Wallace’s hopes of securing a place at final qualifying for the European Tour have suffered a setback after a difficult day saw him shoot a five-over-par second round of 76 in Spain.

The Moor Park Golf Club professional had been in good shape overnight after a four-under-par 67 had left him two shots off the first round lead at the second qualifying stage event at Lumine Golf and Beach Club at Tarragona.

And the 26-year-old, who has already secured a place on the Challenge Tour next year after finishing top of the Alps Tour standings this season, looked set to continue to make positive strides up the leaderboard after a birdie three at the first moved him to five-under.

But the Pinner-based player’s problems began with a bogey at the par five second and by the fifth hole he was back on even par for the tournament after consecutive double bogeys.

Some of that damage was quickly repaired by back-to-back birdies at seven and eight, but then Wallace went bogey, bogey, double bogey from the 12th to the 14th to slip to two-over-par.

Importantly though, he stopped the rot with a fourth birdie of the round to move back to one-over with two rounds still to play.

Wallace currently sits in a share of 57th place and is five shots behind a five-way tie for 19th, with a top-20 finish expected to be enough to secure a place at final qualifying at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona later this month.