Garcia leads by two shots at halfway of Castello Masters on home course

Hometown favorite Sergio Garcia shot an 8-under 63 on Friday to take a two-shot lead after the second round of the European Tour’s Castello Masters.

Playing on a course at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo where he was club champion at the age of 12, Garcia eagled the par-5 No. 8 and holed seven birdies to move to 12 under for the tournament.

The Spaniard, who hasn’t won on the European Tour in almost three years, has improved this season and says his game is “getting there.”

Alexander Noren of Sweden also finished with a 63 and sits alone in second, two shots clear of Scotland’s Gary Orr, England’s Ross McGowan and Australia’s Marcus Fraser.

Garcia’s 63 was only a stroke off his lowest round in either Europe or America. As he was flying through the field, however, Britain's new star Tom Lewis was flying home. The Portugal Masters winner on Sunday in only his third start as a professional, the 20-year-old from England dropped out before the second round because of a virus.

Garcia was six behind Noren when he teed off Friday, and went into overdrive after taking 6 on the long fourth. He eagled the 549-yard eighth and added six birdies to his opening one before saving par with a marvelous bunker shot at the difficult 17th.

"Because I'm home, I've hit that shot so many times," Garcia said. "I hit it perfectly."

After falling from second in the world to outside the top 75, he is now back to 49th with top-12 finishes in the last three majors.

"It's getting there," he added. "It's not quite there yet -- sometimes I have a little bit of a hard time hitting a draw, but when my little fade works out I can keep it in play."

Noren won the Wales Open in June and then a month later took his home Scandinavian Masters by seven -- despite a closing 77.

With overnight leader Ross McGowan following up his 64 with a 70, the 29-year-old set the early pace with eight birdies, something he did not expect before he teed off.

"It didn't feel that good on the range," Noren said. "But I found my swing and holed a lot of putts. I played probably the best I've ever played on the front nine."

McGowan is now tied for third with Scotland’s Gary Orr and Australian Marcus Fraser, while among those who missed the cut were Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and John Daly.