Cabrera made a perfect start to his second round

Former champion Angel Cabrera shot an eagle at his opening hole to help him into a share of the lead at the PGA Championship at Wentworth on Friday.

Cabrera, the 2005 winner, eventually carded a six-under 66 to join Britain's Justin Rose on eight under par.

Rose, who shared the overnight lead with compatriot Paul Broadhurst, had three birdies in a row from the 16th.

Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els both slumped to second-round 76s, with Montgomerie making the cut by a shot.

Wentworth seems to bring out the best in me Angel Cabrera

The veteran Scot had to wait from lunchtime until late in the evening to discover he had squeezed into the final 36 holes with nothing to spare at two over, thanks to two late birdies.

If he had failed it would have been his first early exit from the tournament since his debut in 1989.

Cabrera followed up his opening hole eagle with birdies at the fifth, seventh, 10th and 18th.

"The three-iron went straight into the hole. That was a great way to start," he said.

"Wentworth is great, I always love coming here. It seems to bring out the best in me."

Rose's late charge rescued what had been a disappointing round by his standards.

606: DEBATE I think Cabrera and Rose will blow it when it comes to the crunch PV

"I didn't play that well, didn't hit enough fairways. I didn't seem to get the ball in play off the tee and therefore I was always struggling."

He drilled in a 14-foot putt at the 16th before hitting the green in two at the 17th and taking two putts before recovering from the sand at the last for another birdie.

Wentworth member Ross Fisher finished with two birdies and an eagle in his last three holes for a 67 to share third place with Australian Marcus Fraser.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who will land a bonus of one million euros if he can add victory to his Irish Open win last week, is in a group of five another shot behind.