Day two of the inaugural Portugal Invitational proved to be another very encouraging one for Andy Marshall. A superb 4-under-par 68 lifted him to 4-under for the tournament and into a share of 27th place going into the final round. Starting from the 10th tee once again, Andy made the perfect start with an opening birdie. Once again, our very own "Radar", Melly Harbour, was out walking the course and keeping us updated throughout the day. His eye for detail painted the picture of a player in complete control of his game and allowed those of us back home to feel as though we were following every shot. After the opening birdie, Andy produced a brilliant sand save at the 12th before holing a superb 25-foot birdie putt at the 13th. Another excellent sand save followed at the 14th, before a string of solid pars completed an impressive opening nine in 2-under par. The second nine followed a very similar pattern. Birdies arrived again on the 12th and 13th holes, while his tee-to-green play remained consistently strong. The closing three holes were played into a stiffening breeze, yet Andy still created chances, burning the edge of the hole on each of the final three greens. On putting surfaces described as "like glass," those near misses became simple tap-ins, completing an excellent round of 68. The statistics backed up everything Melly was seeing on the course. Andy hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation, ranked joint first in both scrambling and sand saves, and continued to drive the ball with confidence. It was a round built on patience, quality ball-striking and an excellent short game. As always, I also sent Ella a text after the round. "Well Ella, how's my boy today? It sounds as if he played well today... more to the point, was he happy?" Her reply made me smile. "His words were it was better. He played great." That sums Andy up perfectly. His own assessment was simply "better," while Ella's verdict was much simpler—he played great. Even after climbing the leaderboard with a superb 68, Andy headed straight to the practice ground for a few more shots. That relentless desire to keep improving is one of the reasons he continues to compete so well. One round remains, and Andy has worked himself into a strong position. Golf never guarantees anything, but he has given himself every opportunity to finish the week on a high. We wish him every success in tomorrow's final round. Steve Beckham