Wilson makes forward move

England’s Oliver Wilson feels he is ready to claim his first European Tour title after moving into the clubhouse lead in the Volvo China Open.

Wilson added a second-round 67 to his opening 68 at Shenzhen Golf Club for a nine under par halfway total of 135.

That gave the former Walker Cup player a one-shot lead over Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol, the overnight joint leader picking up one shot in his opening three holes today.

Wilson made a flying start with four birdies in his first six holes this morning, a run only spoilt by a bogey on the third where he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

Further birdies followed on the 11th and 12th and after three-putting the 15th for a bogey, Wilson holed from six feet on the 17th for his seventh birdie of the day.

The 25-year-old finished 97th on the Order of Merit in his rookie season but was in contention several times and feels he is ready to take the next step in his career.

“It’s strange to play two weeks in the middle of nowhere but I see them as bonus weeks and a chance to get off to a good start,” Wilson told PA Sport.

“A win would be great and then have a few weeks off before starting again in Dubai in January.

“I learnt a lot last year. I was in contention five or six times and led three times and, although it didn’t go how I wanted it to, I learnt a lot.

“If I can get into the same position and finish strongly I feel like I am ready to take that next step forward. I’m not a rookie any more so it’s time to move on.

“In New Zealand I led going into the final round and played okay but just got a little bit edgy. In Ireland I could not putt on the last day. The first few days you’re not really thinking about the negative but on the last day everything is going through your mind.

“I’m sure I’ll think about it a bit tonight but it’s only the second round and there is a long way to go. My goal again will be to be in contention walking off the 18th and if I can do that and be in the hunt on Sunday that will be great.”

Veteran Barry Lane, joint third overnight after an opening 67, could only manage a second-round 74 to drop back to three under, two ahead of fellow Englishman Nick Dougherty.

Dougherty, who spent Wednesday morning on a drip in a local hospital after suffering a bout of food poisoning, carded six birdies and four bogeys to add a 70 to his opening 73.

Pre-tournament favourite Paul Casey, at 61 in the world the top-ranked player in the field, opened his second round with a bogey to drop back to level par, while World Cup winner and defending champion Stephen Dodd was one under after two holes.

England's Ross Fisher maintained his solid start to the weekend by carding a birdie-laden seven under par round to leave him two shots shy of Wilson.

He finished his round by picking up three successive shots, recording bogeys only at the third and 18th holes.

Another Englishman, Marbella-based Miles Tunnicliff, has left himself well placed after finishing round two six under par, but will be ruing a double bogey at the par-three 13th.

Overnight joint-leader Francois Delamontagne recovered from dropping a shot at the second by picking up a birdie two holes later to remain at minus seven.

Wilson was overhauled by Plaphol, whose blemish-free round included three birdies to move him a shot clear with six holes to play.

Delamontagne’s up-and-down day took a turn for the better when, after dropping a shot at the sixth, he then birdied the eighth and ninth to reach eight under with the back nine to come.

Johan Skold, of Sweden, put himself in contention with two birdies early in his round to move to six under, where he was joined by Simon Yates, who recorded birdies at the second and third holes, and Jyoti Randhawa.