Dunne moves three clear as Rahm remains in contention

At the halfway stage of the Open de Espana, Paul Dunne holds a three-shot lead while home favourite Jon Rahm remains in the frame.

Paul Dunne moved three strokes clear atop the leaderboard of the Open de Espana, where Jon Rahm lurks in the chasing pack heading into the weekend.

Irishman Dunne shared the lead with Marc Warren after his first-round 66 at Centro Nacional de Golf, but he went one better with a seven-under 65 on Friday to move to 13 under for the tournament.

Warren, meanwhile, shot a 69 as he fell to four off the lead, in a quartet that includes world number four Rahm.

The Spaniard, who finished fourth at the Masters, followed up his opening-day 67 with a 68 – a round that perhaps promised more after an eagle three at the par-five first.

Further gains followed at the fifth and the 11th, before Rahm's progress was halted by a double-bogey six at the 12th. He bounced back immediately with a birdie at the next and finished in style thanks largely to a superb approach into the 18th green.

Dunne, meanwhile, started on the back nine and was five under through 10. He dropped a stroke on the second but four birdies and a bogey from his final five holes made for a satisfactory ending for last year's British Masters champion.

A trio of men – Nacho Elvira, Brett Rumford and Callum Shinkwin – are Dunne's closest challengers on 10 under, after respective rounds of 66, 66 and 67 on Friday.

Andrew 'Beef' Johnston, champion when this tournament was last held in 2016, is five off the lead after matching Rahm's 68 – even helping the 23-year-old find his ball at one stage, much to the delight of the home faithful.