Dermot McElroy leads the Irish challenge into the weekend at the Challenge Tour event in Germany on one under par.
Unfortunately, he was the only Irishman to make the cut, with Jonathan Caldwell back on four over, Jonathan Yates on five over, Niall Kearney closer to the bottom on eight over and Cormac Sharvin ending up with a disappointing 12 over finish for two rounds.
But it’s England’s Sam Hutsby who takes a one stroke lead into the weekend of the Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG after posting a two under par round of 70 on day two.
The Englishman, who shared the lead with Victor Pastor after day one, parred his opening four holes before dropping three shots on his next two. He responded with back-to-back birdies before the turn and carded three more gains on holes 12, 13 and 15 to reach seven under par for the week.
The 34-year-old goes into the third round one shot ahead of four players who share second place including Pastor from Spain, Frenchman Sébastien Gros, Swede Kristoffer Broberg and Lauri Ruuska from Finland, with Hutsby pleased with how he fought back following the early dropped shots.
Speaking on Friday evening after hos round, he said: “I found myself going the wrong way on the leaderboard but I’m very proud of how I bounced back. “I managed to pick up a few shots coming in to keep hold of the lead, so I’m in a good position going into the weekend.
“I hit some nice swings on the first few holes, then got in a bit of bother on one hole and followed it with a three putt so I found myself three over, but I regrouped well and I’m delighted to set the target today.”
The Englishman, who returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014 when he triumphed at the Andalucia Challenge de Cadiz last month, thinks patience will be key over the weekend.
He added: “I don’t see guys tearing this course apart. ”
It’s a course you have to be extremely patient around which luckily is one of my strengths. I’ve always been a very patient golfer and I feel I’ve always had a good temperament which is vital around here.
“I’ve been feeling really good with the driver but it’s not a course where you’re hitting driver every single hole, so you’ve got to pick and choose your moments. The wind’s been swirling too which makes it even more difficult.
“I think the game plan has been pretty good and luckily I’ve been able to execute those plans.”
Spaniard Javier Sainz, Scotsman Daniel Young, Englishman Gary Boyd and Italian Francesco Laporta are two shots off the lead in sixth place.
THE IRISH CHALLENGE IN HEADFORT FROM JULY 27-30
Leave a comment