Graeme McDowell is just three shots adrift of the leaders at the halfway stage of the Asian Tour International Series England at Slaley Hall.
McDowell backed up an opening round 70 with a two-under 69 to move to three-under and within striking distance of leaders Justin Harding and Joohyung Kim.
G Mac is in a share of 13th place after another two-under back nine kept his hopes of a first win since the 2020 Saudi International alive.
The 2010 US Open champion has shown signs of life on the PGA Tour without putting four rounds together but he was delighted to finally see the pieces of the jigsaw come together on Friday.
“Really hit it solidly for the past two days. I just struggled to get the ball in the hole as the greens are a little bit slower, which they need to be as Slaley Hall is on quite a bit of a slope,” said McDowell.
“I really like the way I have been playing the last three or four months, it’s really about that last piece of the puzzle, which is just confidence. Coming over here this week I am feeling comfortable being back in the UK and seeing a golf course like this and seeing the ball behave itself, the confidence is coming back. I am really enjoying my time. The weather has actually been quite pleasant to us. Nice to be there and there abouts going into the weekend.”
DP World Tour stalwart Harding took route 66 to the top of the leaderboard while McDowell’s playing partner Kim shot a 69 to move alongside the South African.
Kim admitted he took inspiration from playing with someone of McDowell’s ilk.
“You can just kind of see why he’s Graeme McDowell, major champion. You get to see the way he plays, the carries himself around. It’s a different class and I felt like I learned a lot from him. It was definitely a pleasure.”
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