Liam Nolan is safely through to the weekend at the HotelPlanner Tour’s Hainan Open in China after a level-par second round that saw him finish his first 36 holes at -1.
The Galway man came into the week – the penultimate HotelPlanner Tour event before the season-ending Rolex Grand Final – ranked 32nd in the Road to Mallorca Rankings with the top 20 at season’s end earning promotion to the DP World Tour, so is targeting a big push over the final few weeks.
After a one-under-par effort on day one, Nolan shared 39th overnight and two bogeys and one birdie on the front nine put him dangerously close to the cut mark. Birdies on the par-5 13th and par-3 16th holes offered a little breathing space, before a bogey on 17 dropped him back to level-par for the day but he made the cut on the number and now has a chance to pick up ground over the weekend.
Max Kenendy, who ranked 40th coming in, will have to turn his attention to next week’s Hangzhou Open, however, after missing the cut with a four-over 76 that left him on +5.
Jan Schneider will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend after carding a three-under-par second round of 69 at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club.
The German, who shared the lead overnight after a seven-under 65 on day one, moved into the outright lead on -10 for the week, one clear of Dutchman Lars van Meijel who occupies solo second.
Schneider, starting on the 10th, kicked off day two with three birdies in his first five holes before dropping a shot on the par four 15th. After holing a 60 foot eagle putt on 18, Schneider mixed two bogeys with a birdie coming in to set the pace at the halfway stage.
“I am very pleased,” he said. “The golf course was playing easier today but it’s still a solid day’s work and to be ten under after two days, I’ll take that.
“My long irons were really good today, but I struggled a little bit with the shorter clubs. I also made a 60 footer on 18 for eagle which was pretty cool.
“I made a couple of silly mistakes out there today, but it didn’t really bother me that much and I did a good job of remaining level-headed throughout the round.”
Schneider is aiming to become the first China Tour player to win on the Road to Mallorca since Zhengkai Bai tasted victory at the Foshan Open six years ago.
The 27-year-old will tee it up in the final group on Saturday and is relishing the chance to compete for a maiden professional victory in Sanya, and, in turn, HotelPlanner Tour playing privileges for the 2026 season.
“I am very excited,” he added. “It’s my first time leading an event after two days, so I am excited to see what happens over the weekend.
“I will try and enjoy the situation tomorrow. Expectations-wise, I will just try and hit one shot at a time and see where I’m at.”
German Anton Albers, who fired a low-round-of-week eight-under 64 earlier in the day, shares third place alongside Spaniard Rocco Repetto Taylor, Swede Per Längfors and Italian Stefano Mazzoli on eight under par.
Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner is two shots further back on six under par. Belgian duo Matthis Besard and James Meyer de Beco, Hong Kong’s Isaac Lam, Italian Renato Paratore, Scotsman David Law, China’s Charles Wang, Swede Robin Petersson and Spain’s Sebastian Garcia sit at five-under.
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