Cormac Sharvin will be the sole Irish representative over the weekend after recording a clutch two-under par 69 in round two of the Swiss Challenge Presented by Swiss Golf.
Having traded three birdies with four bogeys through his first 15 holes, the Ardglass professional was languishing outside the projected cut-mark of minus-one with just three holes to play and in need of something special.
But Sharvin rallied to find it, picking up a gain on the par-3 16th before sensationally landing an eagle three at his penultimate hole before signing for a 69 – his two under total comfortably seeing him through to the business end of the tournament in a share of 42nd place.
But that’s where Ireland’s challenge ended, with Tramore’s Robin Dawson falling agonisingly short of the weekend mark despite a battling one-under par 70 today.
The 23-year old bolted 18 places up the board but his run of two straight weekends made has come to an end in Lucerne with the cut falling at one-under.
Further down the board, Rosapenna’s Ruaidhri McGee was another to rally late but after a day one 74, his Friday 70 and two-over par total was three shots shy of the weekend grade. That was the same tally as Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan who added a 73 to his opening 71 as his week came to an early finish.
Stephen Grant bounced back from a disappointing six-over par 77 to start with a super 68 but that proved little consolation while David Peacock dropped down the board with a day two 77 to also miss the cut.
At the top, Christofer Blomstrand continued his love affair with the Swiss Challenge by adding a seven-under par 64 to his opening 66 to seize control at the halfway stage at Golf Sempachersee.
The Swede leads by three on 12-under par after carding the low round of Day Two, with Aaron Cockerill, Lars van Meijel and Ricardo Santos sharing second place on nine-under par.
Blomstrand finished tied fourth at last year’s Swiss Challenge and although he is unable to put his finger on why he has enjoyed success in the Swiss mountains, he admits being a good ball striker on the tight fairways helps his cause.
“You have to strike the ball well here,” he said. “It’s quite tight so if you’re not hitting good shots, then it’s going to be really tough. That’s the key here.
“I played really well actually. I also played well yesterday, and I’ve played pretty good for quite a long time now.”
Starting on the ninth tee, Blomstrand made the turn at five under and immediately added to his tally at the first and second, picking up birdies at each stop.
The 27-year-old suffered setbacks at the fourth and fifth with bogeys at each hole meaning he dropped back into the pack, before a superb eagle at the seventh saw him regain his advantage and open a healthy cushion between himself and those attempting to keep pace.
“I’ve been hitting some really good shots but it’s starting to feel much better now, so I’m happy,” he said.
“I haven’t been holing many putts but now I’m starting to feel way better on the greens.
“I played well all day but then I used one wrong club and followed it with one bad mistake. I was quite close to holing a wedge on the sixth and then I hit a two iron to eight feet for eagle, so that was a really nice way to finish the day.”
Portugal’s Santos continued his good form with a bogey-free 68 to sit alongside Cockerill and van Meijel in tied second, with the latter signing for a six under par 65.
Julien Quesne, who alongside Blomstrand carded the low round of the day with a seven-under 64, Germany’s Moritz Lampert and England’s Richard Bland share fifth place on eight-under par.
One shot further back on seven under par is Prague Golf Challenge runner-up Mathieu Fenasse, Finland’s Oliver Lindell and Scottish duo Calum Hill and Duncan Stewart.
In total, 66 players survived the 36-hole cut and the third round will begin at 7.42am local time on Saturday June 8. The final group of Santos and Blomstrand will tee off at 12.45pm local time.
Full Scoring HERE
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