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Alan Dunbar made the cut in his first European Tour event as a professional after a three-under-par 69 second round at the Nordea Masters in Brof Hof Slot Golf Club. The Rathmore golfer will now secure his first pay cheque as a professional as heads into the weekend in share of 43rd pace on 3 under par.
Dunbar will have Damien McGrane for company after the Meathman recovered from an opening 73 to make the cut after a five-under 67 moved him to four under.
Sixteen strokes ahead is Matteo Manassero, who shot a second-round 65, to take a two shot lead on day two and kept up the form that secured the BMW PGA Championship last weekend.
It gave the 20-year-old a two-shot lead over Finland’s Mikka Ilonen, who fired a stunning 63, while Scotland’s Peter Whiteford matched that score and is a shot further back on 10 under.
Manassero landed the fourth title of his blossoming career at Wentworth last Sunday and there has been no holding him back in Sweden so far.
He reached the turn in a healthy two under par but five birdies on the back nine saw him shoot past Whiteford, who was already in the clubhouse.
Low scoring was the order of the day, with the temperature warm and the sun out, and Whiteford relished the chance to set an early clubhouse target.
“It’s a good start but there’s a long way to go. I’ve had nine under two or three times in my career but I’ve never gone better than that,” he said.
“I have been swinging pretty well over the past month but today was special. It was near perfect conditions and the golf course is in great shape.”
Whiteford, 32, has never won on the European Tour but he had an impressive second place at the recent Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea, where he lost out in a play-off to Australian Brett Rumford.
He finished off in style today, pitching in for an eagle at the 622-yard par-five 15th which he followed up with birdies all the way home.
Dutchman Joost Luiten reached nine under after a 67, while Swedish players Jonas Blixt and Alexander Noren were flying the flag for the hosts. Blixt signed for a 66 and Noren a 69 as they reached eight-under 136, one ahead of compatriot Rikard Karlberg, Italian Francesco Molinari, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.
The first-round co-leader, Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal, recovered from a triple-bogey six at the short 11th hole, with four birdies thereafter repairing the damage and giving him a round of 70. It was not ideal, given the conditions, but enough to move him alongside Blixt and Noren on eight under.
Peter Lawrei carded seven birdies in eight holes on the back nine but is was not enough to make the cut, with the Dubliner running up a triple-bogey six on the par-3 16th to end a run of five straight birdies.
He then birdied the final two holes to card a five-under 67 and close on one under, a shot outside the cut.
Darren Clarke finished on one over after a 73 and also missed the cut.
David Higgins returns home early too after a 76 left him on seven over.
England’s Paul Casey squeezed through on the cut mark and so did Australian Andrew Dodt, in extraordinary fashion.
Dodt made two holes-in-one in his round, the first player to achieve that feat on the European Tour, as he went straight from tee to cup on the seventh and 11th holes in a round of 65, after yesterday’s 77.
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