A superb six-under 65 on day two of the Indoor Golf Group Challenge has Paul McBride at the right end of the leaderboard heading into the weekend on the Challenge Tour in Sweden.
The Island man picked up seven birdies and one bogey in his second round at Allerum Golf Club in Helsingborg to move up to nine-under-par for the tournament, which is just four shots off leader Daniel Brown at the halfway stage.
McBride, 26, is looking for a big finish to not only secure a first top-10 since May 2021 on the Alps Tour but also to boost his chances of securing Challenge Tour status for next season and is currently projected to rise to 155th in the Road to Mallorca standings.
He’s within striking distance of leader Brown, though, with the Englishman going low in the second round with an outstanding nine-under 62 at Allerum to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at 13-under-par.
The 27-year-old had an eagle and seven birdies to lead the way by a single stroke from Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg, who also had a 62 on day two to move to 12-under, with France’s Clement Sordet and England’s Jonathan Thomson at 11-under.
“I’ve been trending really, for the last three weeks. The first few months of the season, I had a couple of decent results in there but I missed a few cuts by one or two, but I’ve been there or thereabouts, it’s not been far away. I’ve been driving it a lot better and holing a few more putts,” said Brown, who has his first 36-hole lead of his Challenge Tour career.
Tom McKibbin also played his way into the weekend with a superb seven-under 64 featuring eight birdies and one bogey to sit tied-32nd at six-under-par, with Gavin Moynihan also in for two more rounds as a 68 took him one shot inside the cut line at four-under.
There was heartbreak for Hugh Foley, the North and South of Ireland champion missing out by one shot as a second round 67 left him one shot too many at three-under, with Kinsale’s John Murphy’s impressive 66 only good enough to take him to two-over.
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