Todd Clements and Hugo Leon share a three-stroke lead on 13 under par after the second round of the British Challenge Presented by Modest! Golf Management at The Belfry Hotel & Resort.
The Englishman took advantage of his early morning tee time to post a four under par round of 68 and set the target, while 36-year-old Leon birdied the last to join Clements on 13 under par and move three strokes clear of Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, who sits second on ten under par.
Clements went into the second round with the outright lead following a sublime nine under par opening round of 63 and despite an indifferent start to day two, recovered well to finish strongly and maintain a foothold at the top of the leaderboard.
“I had a bit of a shaky start this morning but coming here with a 68, I obviously played great,” he said. “I’m enjoying it, I’ve got my caddie here, one of my best mates, that makes it really enjoyable. I had a late finish yesterday and then the early start, it feels like it comes quickly, and my game feels like it’s in good shape.
“I feel like I made a few silly mistakes with some of those bogeys but to come back with birdies makes it a little bit easier with the par fives behind.
“We’ve got 36 holes and hopefully being at the top, in contention over the weekend, that’s what we practice for, what we play for and I’m just here to enjoy myself and see where the weekend takes me.”
Chilean Leon got off to the perfect start, holing his approach shot to the first from 52 yards for eagle before following it up with a birdie at the second.
He negated two bogeys with five further birdies to put himself right in the mix heading into the weekend and with a chance of lifting a first trophy on European soil.
“It was another very solid round,” he said. “I played very well today, it was a start you dream of. Holing out on the first hole, it was a perfect shot too, so it was a beautiful start and then on two, I caught a little bit of a break. My lay-up shot went a little right of where I wanted, it stayed just short of the creek and I got up and down for birdie. It was a great start, I settled in a little bit and I just tried to keep the ball in play and keep to the same strategy.
“There’s still a long way to go but I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m very excited. I’ve never been able to win over on this side of the Atlantic and it’s something that I would love to do, so having a chance is very exciting for me and I’m going to give it all I’ve got and see where that takes me.”
Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey tied the low round of the week with a bogey-free nine under par round of 63 to move into a tie for fourth place on nine under par alongside Norway’s Espen Kofstad and Scotsman Euan Walker. Six players, including four-time European Tour winner Matteo Manassero, are a shot further back in a tie for seventh place on eight under par.
Darkness brought an end to day two in England, meaning the final group will be required to finish their second rounds in the morning. The cut will be made and round three will begin upon the conclusion of the second round.
