Matt Morris holed a nervy three footer on the last to make the weekend at the £3.6m BMW PGA Championship.
But it was heartbreak for another Midland pro, Southwell's Paul Streeter, who missed the cut by a single shot despite two birdies in his last three holes.
Other late drama saw Robert Dinwiddie in the very last group break the course record, set by Paul McGinley and Miles Tunnicliff with 65s, with a nine under par 63 including six birdies in the last seven holes.
Morris (Bromsgrove Golf Centre), who two weeks ago won a side-bet with runaway leader McGinley during a practice round, cashed in again with a crucial putt on the par five 18th.
His two over par 74 was put him at one over for the tournament alongside major champions Retief Goosen, Paul Lawrie and Angel Cabrera, but the 30-year-old was in blissful ignorance that he needed it to earn an extended stay at Wentworth.
"I didn't have a clue but 18 is ridiculously quick," said Morris who was cheered on by his parents and friends.
" I just tried to dribble it up, it's not a putt you can have go at but I dribbled it and it went three foot past and I thought oh no.
"But I just kept my head down and managed to grovel it in."
Morris began the day at one under par but his round was blighted by a 20 minute wait on the fourth tee and despite birdies on 10, 14 and 17, bogies at 13 and 15 meant he was far from happy with his game.
"It was awful really, I played rubbish and hit it in a few places where you just can't play from," he said.
"I started great, hit it down the flag on the first and second and got a good par down the third but waited on the next tee for about 20 minutes.
"I pulled one off the tee and made six, it shouldn't have put me on back foot but it did a bit.
"You can capitalise on the par fives if you drive it well but I didn't and every hole was hard work.
"But I'm pleased! To have made the cut is a big achievement I think it gives you a good idea of where your game is.
"I played with Steve Webster and Marc Warren and they didn't miss a shot. They broke par yesterday with their poor rounds and I was two over today with my bad one so I know where I've got to be, you've got to shooting level when you're playing badly."
Streeter meanwhile, who finished in the early afternoon, was forced to endure an anxious wait before discovering he'd just missed out on a potentially lucrative weekend stay.
Last year's PGA Play-Offs winner had put himself in serious contention after a second round level par 72 left him at two over at the halfway stage.
His hopes were ultimately derailed by a triple-bogey eight at the par five 12, which blotted an otherwise perfect round that included birdies at eight, 16 and 18.
"I'm just pleased with the 17 holes I played out there," said Streeter, who left his putter in the marker's hut at the end of his first round.
"I had the eight on the par five and you can't really afford those but other than that I got it round OK.
"On the eight, I missed fairway and had a hideous lie. I tried to wedge it back on and I moved it five yards into a dyke, took a drop then hit it short of the green, chipped on and two putted - sounds easy."
Elsewhere it was mixed fortunes for the other regions' pros competing at Wentworth.
Peterculter pro Greig Hutcheon, making his second consecutive appearance, departed after a 74 left him five over par while David Shacklady (Mossack Hall) had another 76 to sit alongside Thomas Bjorn.
Teign Valley's Sean Mason left with a smile after playing the final 27 holes in one over par - just a shame that the damage was done in the first nine holes of his Wentworth debut, which contributed to a ten-over-par total.
Middlesbrough's Jon Lupton was also in good spirits after finishing birdie, eagle to sit alongside Mason.
Ian Ellis (Weston Park) was at 12 over with Ant Tarchetti (Littlestone) with his confidence still high.
"I was confident coming here and find the course OK. However it wasn't my week but it will be soon," he said.
Meanwhile, Black Bush's Mark Staunton planned to take away the positives from his Championship debut after shooting a second consecutive round of 80.
"I suppose the occasion got the better of me a little," he said. "But it's been a great experience and you have to get this out of the way before you can come back and do better."