Westwood had eight birdies in his flawless second round

Lee Westwood set a course record 64 in the second round of the Andalucia Open to move into contention for his first European Tour title since 2003.

Westwood's eight-under-par round put him two shots off the lead at the halfway stage at the Aloha Golf Club.

South African Louis Oosthuizen leads after his second consecutive 67, which included six birdies.

The three-way tie for second includes first-round leader Matthew Zions.

Alongside the Australian are Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Francois Delamontagne of France.

I brought five putters with me in anticipation of the way things have been going Lee Westwood

Westwood was seven shots off the lead after his level-par 72 in the opening round.

He ditched his 'belly' putter in favour of a standard length club on Friday and it paid immediate dividends with a birdie at his opening hole.

Seven more followed in a flawless round by the 34-year-old Ryder Cup star from Worksop.

"It feels great, a lot better than walking off yesterday," he said.

"I went back to the short putter today and went cross-handed, which is something I haven't done for a long time.

"I brought five putters with me in anticipation of the way things have been going. This one I last used in the first round of the US Masters and I swore I'd never use it again, but it seems to get the ball rolling nicely on these greens."

Westwood's playing partner Fernandez-Castano, who is co-staging the event, added a 68 to his opening 67 to remain on track for back-to-back victories following his Italian Open victory on Sunday.

Zions, who had established the course record on Thursday, added a 70 to his opening 65 despite not feeling 100%.

"I felt a little under the weather this morning, a sore throat and a few shivers, and I drank a bottle of water on every hole," he revealed.