Johan Carlsson of Sweden moved one shot clear of the pack midway through moving day at the Kazakhstan Open, as the leader Scott Arnold had dropped three shots back when the final group reached the turn.
Carlsson carded a birdie four at the par five tenth hole, after a two under front nine, to move one shot clear of Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and Dane Jeppe Huldahl at Nurtau Golf Club.
Otaegui began the day three shots back but a birdie at the third hole got the 20 year old off and running before another birdie at the par three fifth was cancelled out by a bogey at the sixth. He finished off his front nine on a positive note, however, as a three at the par four ninth moved him to nine under.
Huldahl, who led the field after a stunning opening round of 63 at Nurtau Golf Club, was having a mixed day, with two birdies at the second and the sixth offset by a double-bogey at the fourth hole, taking him to the turn in level par.
Arnold was struggling to maintain the momentum gained thanks to consecutive rounds of 65 as the Australian suffered four bogeys and carded only one birdie to reach the turn in three over par and drop back to seven under for the week.
There were ten more players within three shots of the lead in the pristine Almaty venue as one of the Challenge Tour’s biggest tournaments of the season was shaping up for an enthralling final day.
