Rory McIlroy comfortably made the cut at the British Masters, supported by Sky Sports, but Sergio Garcia will have the weekend off.
McIlroy carded a one-under 69 in the second round at Close House to sit on four under at the halfway stage, with the cut coming at two under.
That mark was one shot too low for Masters champion Garcia, who could only add a 69 to his opening 70.
Four-time major champion McIlroy, who posted a three-under 67 on Thursday, made a shaky start to his second round and left himself with some work to do after bogeys at the second and fifth holes.
The 28-year-old got back on track with a birdie at the sixth and another gain at the 11th put daylight between him and the projected cut-mark.
A wayward tee shot at the 14th, where he found the ditch down the right-hand side of the fairway with an iron, put him back in trouble but he managed to salvage a par with an excellent approach shot to the green.
McIlroy then ensured he will be back in action on Saturday morning with a birdie at the 17th following a monster drive which put him just off the left-hand side of the green on the 350-yard par four.
The world No 6 will now be hoping to post a score in the low 60s in the third round if he is to close the eight-shot gap on leader Tyrrell Hatton.
Garcia, however, came up just short after a frustrating round which contained only one birdie and 17 pars.
The 37-year-old Spaniard started at the 10th but failed to make a birdie on the back nine.
A birdie on the par-four first stopped Garcia treading water, but he was unable to make any further progress up the leaderboard as eight more pars followed.
Garcia had the worst of the conditions in the morning with plenty of rain falling, and McIlroy admitted he had benefited from the improved weather in the afternoon.
"I think we got the better of the conditions," he said. "We didn't have to contend with the rain like the guys did in the morning, but the wind got up in the afternoon, which made it a bit trickier."
The Northern Irishman is now looking for a better performance over the weekend as he attempts to find his rhythm.
"It was a little bit of a struggle," he added after completing his second round. "I just didn't get off to a great start. I played okay on the way in, but I obviously need to go a bit lower on the weekend to have a chance.
"I feel like I'm hitting decent putts. I'm not reading them right, at all. I hit a couple of weak ones out there, as well. Keep giving myself chances, and hopefully a few putts drop."