Conor Purcell will be heading home early as Tapio Pulkkanen, Connor Syme and Darius van Driel share a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Magical Kenya Open presented by absa.
The Portmarnock man, following an opening three-over 74, birdied the opening hole in round two but that was as good as it got as he covered the opening nine in one-over and then, needing to shot at least -4 on the back side, saw all hopes fade when he double-bogeyed the par-3 13th.
Dutchman van Driel, the overnight leader, set the clubhouse target of seven under par, following up his five under par first round at Muthaiga Golf Club with a two under 69. He was then joined on that number by Finland’s Tapio Pulkannen after he fired a three under par 68.
“It was a bit more difficult,” said van Driel, “more wind and it was a bit colder – but still a good score. I was (patient). I missed a couple of short putts for birdie though, but you know there are some chances out there and some tough holes as well. Overall, if you shoot a score under par, that’s good.
“The heat makes the ball a little bit further, now it’s cooler you wonder what it’s going to do. Is it going to affect your ball into the wind? Of course, downwind it still goes. It’s not a fun day to be a caddie.”
Scotland’s Syme made it a three-way tie for the lead in the afternoon after he also carded a three under 68, finishing with an eagle on the 18th hole.
“Pretty pleased,” said Syme afterwards. “Actually didn’t putt as well as I did yesterday but I felt like I played a little bit better today. It was nice to get a bonus eagle at the last to cap off a solid round of golf.
“I think my driving overall…it’s always awkward to hit so many fairways around here because they are very tight and bouncy. But I drove it pretty well and gave myself chances to get it close to some of the pins. I scramble well when I needed to, there were a couple on the back nine where I kept momentum going to give me an opportunity to do that one on the last.”
The trio, each going in search of a maiden DP World Tour victory, are closely followed by a bunched leaderboard, with 12 players sitting within two strokes.
Four competitors share second place on six under par, with Spaniard Elvira carding a five under par 66 to move up the leaderboard. He is joined by Scotsman Ewen Ferguson, England’s Sam Hutsby and Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise.
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