Andrea Perrino of Italy and Scotsman Craig Lee shared a one-shot lead after the second round of the Saint-Omer Open on Friday.
Lee had six birdies and three bogeys for a 3-under 68 and a total of 5-under 137 as he overcame windy and wet conditions. His Italian rival carded a 2-under 69 with three birdies and one bogey.
Both men have a one-stroke lead over first-round leader George Coetzee of South Africa. Another Italian, Federico Colombo, is fourth at 3 under.
''I'm delighted with that,'' Lee said. ''The scoring didn't progress as much as I thought, so here I am leading the tournament. I've played nicely the last two days. This course is tricky at the best of times and with the wind it is hard. It's supposed to only get worse tomorrow so it's going to be an interesting weekend. This is the third time I've played here and twice before I've missed the cut.''
Benn Barham, Thomas Norret, Andrew Tampion, Marco Ruiz and Matthew Zions are tied for fifth, three strokes off the pace.
Perrino said he achieved a ''dream'' by leading a European Tour tournament for the first time of his career.
''I've just got to stay calm and make the best out it,'' he said. ''I'm not going to worry about it or play with fear it's just a game.''
Coetzee, who led by two shots after the first round, lost his lead with a bogey at the fourth and a double bogey at the 14th.
''I'm happy to take that score and still be in contention for the weekend,'' he said. ''It looked like the weather was going to be okay but when we teed off it was pouring with rain, so it was tough out there. Hopefully we'll have some nicer weather tomorrow and I can get some birdies going.''
