Thorbjorn Olesen barely made the cut at the Made in Denmark as he bids to earn a spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team for the first time.
Olesen, Matt Fitzpatrick and Eddie Pepperell are all competing for the final automatic qualifying spot on Thomas Bjorn's team.
Bjorn's fellow Dane Olesen can seal his place with a top-six finish but he still has plenty of work to do after recovering from a one-over 73 in the first round.
He improved to card a three-under 69, highlighted by an eagle at the par-five 11th, taking him to two under, just one stroke above the cut line.
Pepperell matched Olesen's second-round score to move to five under, with Fitzpatrick a shot further back after a 68 in which a bogey at the second was his only blemish.
The English pair are in need of a win to overhaul Olesen, but they are each well adrift of leader Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Bezuidenhout improved on his bogey-free first-round 66, going 13 under through 36 holes after a 65 that saw him go five under on the back nine.
The South African leapfrogged Jonathan Thomson, who led after an opening 64 but is now tied second with Ryder Cup vice-captain Lee Westwood on 11 under.
