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| European Tour |
Joakim Lagergren showed he possesses substance and style in equal measure at the Northern Ireland Open Challenge in association with Maui Jim sunglasses as the Swede followed up his spectacular opening 62 with a battling level par 71 in difficult conditions to maintain his lead.
As the wind howled around the picturesque Galgorm Castle on Day Two, low scores were much tougher to come by but those who could hang in and card anything around the level par mark would make gains on the leaderboard.
While several players did make a push towards the summit courtesy of under-par rounds, Lagergren held firm at the top, birdieing the final hole to enter the weekend one shot clear of the pack on nine under par.
The 22 year old got off to a strong start with a birdie at the first but suffered a bogey at the driveable par four second, all the more disappointing given it was playing downwind.
Back to back bogeys at the seventh and eighth were followed by a birdie at the par five ninth to reach the turn in one over and, while he began the back nine with a bogey six, two birdies on the way home were enough to copper-fasten his second round lead and he was delighted with how he showed the requisite mettle on a difficult day.
“It was really tough today,” said Lagergren, who has already played two seasons on The European Tour since turning professional in 2010. “In my opinion it wasn’t even the same game today.
“Yesterday, you could go for birdies, you could go for pins, but today par was a good score and that’s all I kept in mind all day. It’s all about the state of mind. When you’re on the first tee you need to know that you can’t be too aggressive in these conditions.
“You still have to hit good shots to shoot level par, but I kept it in mind to just be calm and don’t get upset with bogeys. You need to be patient out there.
“I'm really pleased to be still top of the leaderboard. Going out in the lead with two days left, I can’t ask for much more.”
With tens of thousands of spectators expected at the weekend, the Stockholm player is relishing the opportunity to exhibit his skills in front of some of the most knowledgeable golf fans in the world.
“Hopefully we’ll see big crowds tomorrow, it would be really fun,” he said. “They have been great so far, the crowds are really good. They know the game of golf, they behave like a crowd should and they are very knowledgeable.”
Englishman Steven Brown was one of those to close the gap at the top from two to one as he signed for a two under par 69 to move to eight under par, in outright second place.
The former Walker Cup star has been on imperious form of late, his sixth place finish at last week’s lucrative Rolex Trophy the latest of three top ten finishes in his last five appearances, and he was delighted with how he dealt with the testing conditions.
“It was very windy this morning,” said the 27 year old, who fired three birdies in his opening four holes having teed off at the tenth. “I knew it wasn’t going to be nice after looking at the forecast but it was cold early on as well as windy.
“I drove it really well and that was the key, if you get it in play then you can still give yourself a chance. The greens are so good that if you get a few chances, you can make some putts and I converted my chances early on.
“I was clinging on a bit at the end. I was still having chances but if you get outside 20 feet, it’s not easy to get it dead and you’re left with three- or four-footers with massive winds coming across you. So I missed a couple of par-savers which halted my momentum a bit.
“I got to ten under at one point but missed a couple of six-footers. But it’s tough out there so I'm really happy with how I played.
“It will be fun with all the people out watching at the weekend. Everyone knows that this tournament is a fun one because of all the people watching and they really appreciate good golf. It’s a great atmosphere so I can’t wait until the weekend.”
Frenchman Thomas Linard, a winner already on the Challenge Tour this year at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge, carded a three under par 68 to move to seven under par and join American Dodge Kemmer (69) in a share of third place.
Three-time European Tour winner Kenneth Ferrie was one shot further back alongside promising South African Brandon Stone while two more former European Tour winners, Ferrie’s English compatriot Ross McGowan and Welshman Rhys Davies were both within five shots of the lead heading into moving day.
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