Marcel Siem will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Betfred British Masters after following up his opening 66 with a 69 on Friday, but Conor Purcell’s week ended in disappointment as he missed the cut by the minimum.
A one-over-par opening round left Purcell just outside the provisional cutline, but a blistering start in which he went birdie-par-eagle-birdie catapulted him up the leaderboard and to within touching distance of the top 10.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep the momentum up and a double bogey on six was followed by bogeys on seven and eight and all the early good work was undone by the turn.
One birdie and one bogey on the back side saw him finish as he started, and as the day went on, it became clear that he’d have one stroke too many.
The other main Irish interest in the event actually comes in the shape of Dane, Rasmus Hojgaard. A T29 finish or better will see the reigning Irish Open champion leapfrog Shane Lowry into the automatic qualifier places and earn a guaranteed place in Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team.
Having shot a three-under opening round which left him tied for 12th overnight, an early wobble saw him slip to +2 for the day in round two, but he recovered to turn in a one-under 71 and move one step further to Bethpage going into the weekend sharing 14th.
The Ryder Cup and the cutline are the least of Siem’s worries, however. The 45-year-old German started his second round from the tenth tee and flew out of the blocks, holing a series of lengthy putts as he carded an eagle and three birdies in his first eight holes of the day.
Bogeys followed on the 18th and second but he bounced back with a birdie at the fifth before dropping another shot on the sixth to head into the weekend on nine under par.
Major Champion and Ryder Cup hopeful Matt Fitzpatrick led a stellar chasing pack one shot behind Siem after the home favourite also signed for a second-round 69.
Fitzpatrick saved his best until last as he holed his 22-foot birdie try on the 18th to close the gap to a single shot at the halfway stage.
His fellow Englishman Matt Wallace was in a tie for third on seven under alongside New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori and South African Brandon Stone.
Siem picked up his first birdie of the day from ten feet at the 12th hole before making back-to-back gains from over 20 feet at the 15th and 16th.
He then converted his stunning long-range eagle putt on the 17th to reach 11 under par.
But he could not keep the momentum going as he dropped three shots and picked up just one more birdie over the next ten holes.
And Siem felt he could have gone even lower, saying: “It was a great start. My ego took over a little on the back nine because I hit really good shots.
“On the 18th I got a bit unlucky with my drive, had a bad lie and missed the first short putt. Then on the first, I had two great shots. Misread that putt.
“On the second, I hit a great drive. I thought it was in the fairway. It bounced to the right apparently, pretty bad lie. Misread that putt for par as well. Next hole as well. Next hole as well.
“Then I finally hole one on the next, misread it again. Felt like I could have shot a bit lower today. So my ego took a bit over. That’s why you didn’t see me smiling.
“I will be smiling soon.”
Fitzpatrick turned in 36 after carding one birdie and one bogey on the front nine before picking up shots at the 11th, 13th and 15th to move in the right direction.
After surrendering a bogey on the 16th, the home hope finished in style with a birdie at the last.
He said: “I felt like I played really solid. Ten fours in a row to start the day is always nice and steady, I guess.
“I wish there were a few more par fives there, but it was a good day all around. I felt like I never really put myself out of position and drove the ball really well off the tee. And I think if you can do that, you give yourself a chance.”
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