Overnight leader David Law soon had company at the top of the leaderboard on day two of the Betfred British Masters.

With light rain falling at Close House, Italy's Renato Paratore birdied the opening hole to join Scotland's Law at the head of affairs on seven under par.

Law had started his second round with four straight pars, with England's Matthew Jordan making the most progress among the early starters.

Jordan, who led after the opening round of this event at Hillside last year, birdied the second, seventh and eighth to improve to six under par and into a five-way tie for third place.

Jordan's progress was halted by a first bogey of the day on the 13th which dropped him back to six under par and three behind Paratore.

Birdies on the seventh and 10th took Paratore into the outright lead on nine under, a shot ahead of Portugal's Pedro Figueiredo and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard.

Overnight leader Law was a shot further back after extending his run of pars to nine holes.

Former US Open champion Michael Campbell, who admitted he was "flabbergasted" to card an opening 68, had tumbled down the leaderboard after covering the first four holes in four over par.

Paratore, who is seeking a second European Tour title after winning the Nordea Masters in 2017, also birdied the 17th to complete a flawless 66 and set the new clubhouse target at 11 under.

"There is no atmosphere that you like without the crowds but I am just really happy to come back to play," he said.

"Lockdown for me was really frustrating because I like to play a lot. I could play every week."

The biggest threat to Paratore's lead looked to be from England's Ashley Chesters, who had covered his first 10 holes in four under to improve to eight under.

South Africa's Justin Harding was just a shot behind after firing five birdies in his first seven holes, but tournament host and Close House member Lee Westwood was facing a battle to make the cut.

Westwood began his second round on one under par but made a double bogey on the opening hole and also dropped a shot on the third before stopping the rot with birdies on the fifth and seventh.

At level par Westwood was right on the projected cut mark with 11 holes to play.

Harding had the second 59 in European Tour history in his sights when he birdied the ninth to be out in 29, although he followed that with three pars to remain eight under overall.

England's Dale Whitnell, who had not earned a single penny from five events in 2020 before the lockdown, carded an eagle and five birdies in a flawless 64 to move to within a shot of the lead on 10 under.

"I've been working hard on my game and this course suits me because it's a little bit fiddly in places," said the 31-year-old from Colchester, who played on the 2009 Walker Cup team alongside Tommy Fleetwood.

"I'm just trying to go about my business like I normally would and if it's good enough, it's good enough."