Stephen Gallacher brilliantly muscled his way to share of the Oman lead in Muscat lead as the Bathgate pro looks to become the first Scot to win on this year’s European Tour.

Gallacher, 45 did not drop a shot in grabbing five birdies in a five under par 67 and head to the weekend rounds at nine-under par and tied at the top with Dane Rasmas Hojgaard (68).

Hojgaard, 27 won earlier this year in capturing the Mauritius Open.

Gallacher, and with son Jack on the bag, has capped his opening two rounds managing to birdie the seventh, eighth and 12^th holes for two days running on the Greg Norman designed lay-out.

The effort was also Gallacher’s first bogey-free round in 18 months.

Scot Stephen Gallacher on route to a share of the lead day two of the Oman Open. (Photo – Getty/European Tour)

He said: “It was tough from the get go this morning in the wind – we had four holes straight into it at the start – and it never really dropped.

“The big key here is that you have got to hit fairways out there, especially when the pins are tucked and the wind is coming from the opposite angles.  The fairways are generous, but being on the right side of them helps a lot.

“It’s also one of the best courses we play all year.  It is very demanding and you.”

The last Scot to win on Tour was Gallacher and that was 11 months ago in capturing the Hero Indian Open, and a fourth Tour title.

And with his Indian Open defence just a month away, Gallacher is warming-up for his title defence in the best manner possible.

He said:  “I worked on a few things before going to Saudi and I hit some good shots out there and it’s amazing how things snowball.

“You start to chip better, you start to putt better and you start to compete.  By Sunday you just want to have a chance to win coming down the stretch.

And Gallacher’s no stranger to winning in the Middle East being the only player in the now 31-year history to have won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic back-to-back as he did in 2013 and 2014.

Joining Gallacher over the weekend is fellow Scots Calum Hill, Grant Forrest and Connor Syme.