Wales Open: Connor Syme at the helm at Celtic Manor

Connor Syme & # 39; s second place finish in the Shot Clock Masters in 2018 is his highest European Tour placement -6 C Syme (Sco); -4 L Johnston (Sco), J Smith (Eng), N Elvira (Spa), S Kim (US), H Li (Chi), S Soderberg (Swe) Selected others: +5 R Enoch (Wal); +6 Farr (Wal); +7 Price (Wal) Full Ranking

Scottish Connor Syme looks for a place at next month's US Open after opening a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Wales Open.

The top 10 of the UK Swing Order of Merit rankings after this week qualifies for the major at Winged Foot and Syme came ninth for this event.

Rain and wind made low scoring difficult in the second round at Celtic Manor.

"It was a real grind, that was one of the toughest circumstances I've played in," said Syme after a 71-under-par 71.

The 25-year-old, who is not yet a European Tour event, had a one-time lead after 54 holes of last week's Celtic Classic, which was also staged in Newport at the site of the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Syme had to settle for part of third place after a final lap of 71, which was composed on either side of a two-hour lightning delay.

"I've gotten a lot of confidence from last week," Syme added. "It was a new experience for me with a 54 hole lead and I really enjoyed it. I try to get back in those positions as much as possible.

" US Open was definitely one of my goals once I got into the UK Swing. To put myself in a position to do that is great, of course, but it's not something you can really think about, so much can happen.

Fellow Scot Liam Johnston and England Jordan Smith is one of six players on four under par.

The Wales Open has returned to the European Tour after a six-year hiatus, but no golfer from Wales has taken the cut to over the weekend.