Jonathan Caldwell, Alex Maguire and Mark Power are all safely through to the weekend at the HotelPlanner Tour’s Challenge de España at Fontanals Golf Club in Girona.
An opening round of 66 left Caldwell well-placed at -5, but a slow start to round two saw him cover the opening nine holes in two-over thanks to eight pars and a double on the 17th, but he responded with three birdies and no dropped shots on the front side and he goes into the weekend tied for 18th at -6.
Maguire, playing on a national invitation, had the round of the day from an Irish perspective, carding seven birdies and three bogeys on his way to a 67 that moved him to -5 and into a share of 25th, with Power, who shot a second-round 68, one shot further adrift.
Max Kennedy shot a level-par 71 but missed the cut by two on -1, as did Liam Nolan and Jack Madden (+1) and Dermot McElroy (+7).
Oliver Gillberg and Luis Masaveu share a one stroke lead heading into the weekend..
Gillberg carded a five under par round of 66 on day two, while Masaveu’s four-under 67 saw the duo both move to 11-under-par for the week, one stroke clear of overnight leader Victor Sidal Svendsen from Denmark, Frenchman Clement Charmasson and Scotsman Euan Walker who share third.
Gillberg was one of the early starters on day two and birdied four of his opening five holes to jump into the outright lead.
The Swede added two more gains at the ninth and 12th, and despite recording his only bogey of the day on the par five 13th, is in a strong position to challenge for a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at the weekend.
The 28-year-old is making his first start of the season this week after earning promotion from the Nordic Golf League in 2024.
“I realised yesterday just how much I miss competing because it’s been a while, so I’m just happy that the game felt good and I felt the joy of competing again,” he said.
“I was out in the first group this morning when it was cold and rainy, but I got off to a pretty hot start which was nice. I shot level par on the back nine so slowed down a bit but I’m very happy.
“I feel prepared for the season and this weekend. I played nine events last year on the HotelPlanner Tour, with quite a few of those being invites, so I’ve come into this year with quite a lot of experience.”
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