Day two of the Rosa Challenge in Poland saw Jens Fahrbring tighten his grip on the lead with a four-under second round, seeing the Swede take a two-stroke lead on -11 heading into moving day.
He fended off moves from second placed Spaniard Angel Ayora who carded a five under to sit on -9 while third spot Martin Simonsen, the Dane had a three-under, 67 of his own.
Dermot McElroy continues to lead the Irish charge, six off the pace after his 69 on day two, while Conor Purcell carded a second consecutive 68 to sit tied for 16th.
Purcell had a charge on his homeward nine with four birdies as he looked to post a low number, before a disappointing double on the par-three eighth, his penultimate hole, saw him drop back the order.
McElroy had four birdies of his own on his walk around the Polish countryside before bogeys on the first, sixth and 15th erased much of his good work. A solid Saturday with fewer errors should see the pair make an impression towards the business end of the leaderboard.
Gary Hurley put on a fine display for his second day, carding five birdies before his only dropped shots of the day came with a double on the 18th. The 31-year-old sits on three under heading into the weekend. The guillotine of the cut line fell at even par, meaning there will be no further involvement for Jonathan Caldwell, Liam Nolan, Mark Power, John Murphy, Ronan Mullarney or Conor O’ Rourke.
66 players made the grade and will come back for a weekend of action on Rosa GC for round three on Saturday as the action heats up on the Challenge Tour. Denmark’s Christoffer Bring is one of those who made the grade for weekend action, aided by an ace on the par-three 14th. A 190-yard 9-iron for one of the many Scandinavian players populating the sharp end of the scoreboard, saw him tie McElroy on five under and with a share of 12th as the action heats up.
Top of the tree, Fahrbring was on hand to reflect on his second consecutive strong display around Rosa GC. “It’s very pleasing to be in this position,” he said. “My game has been very rusty coming back from injury, but the last three or four weeks, I’m starting to get used to the nerves you feel when you play tournament golf.”
“I played some nice golf again today. I think the pins were a little bit trickier, so I had to manage my game a little bit better,” he added. “I stayed patient and made a few nice putts on the back nine, so it was a good day.”
The two-time Challenge Tour winner last tasted victory in 2015 at the D+D Real Czech Challenge and is hoping his aggressive approach in Konopiska can continue to help him towards a third title this weekend. “I’m just trying to relax as much as I can and concentrate on each shot and try to play a little bit more aggressive this week,” he added. “We’ll have to see over the weekend where it takes me.
Round three will kick off in Poland at 7.45 local time with Saturday three-balls. Gary Hurley will kick off the Irish tilt on Saturday at 9.40am with Conor Purcell following out at 10.35. McElroy will begin his charge shortly after 11am as he looks to make an impression on the first page of the leaderboard.
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