No qualms for Quiros as late birdie quartet earns two-shot lead

Alvaro Quiros put together a stunning end to his second round to earn himself a two-shot lead at the Rocco Forte Open.

The Spaniard, without a win on the European Tour for six years, came into Friday's play in Sicily two adrift of the leading duo of Michael Hoey and Sebastian Soderberg.

Hoey and Soderberg had each carded bogey-free 10-under 61s on Thursday, but found scoring tougher in their second rounds, as did Quiros until his final four holes.

With an eagle at nine and a birdie at 12 to his name, Quiros picked up shots at each of the last four to surge beyond Hoey and Soderberg - who both hit 68s - and finish on 15 under.

Quiros, who aced the 13th during his first round, reached as high as 21 in the world rankings back in 2011, but has now dropped to 703 and does not currently hold a European Tour card.

A victory at Verdura Golf Club would remedy that and the Spaniard was pleased to reflect on a more mature round.

"Sometimes I've been very greedy, trying to force myself into a better score when the game wasn't good and today I have to be proud of myself," he said.

"Eight consecutive pars was the typical situation for me to blow my mind because I'm not shooting low. Today was a big step mentally speaking, trying to be patient.

"I'm not going to fix my situation in one day or one tournament so hopefully I can keep working, still adding good rounds and hopefully at the end of the year come back to the tour."