German wunderkind Dominic Foos maintained his one shot lead at the GANT Open after a two under par second round of 69 saw him move to eight under par ahead of a clutch of contenders.
The 17 year old heads an impressive field going into the weekend, with François Calmels, Jamie McLeary, Marcel Schneider and Brandon Stone all on seven under par.
Foos fired five birdies, disappointingly bogeying the 18thhole to halve his halfway lead, but believes he is ready to become the youngest winner of a European Challenge Tour event.
“I’m feeling very comfortable,” he said. “I need to just stick to my plan and play the way I play and everything will take care of itself I hope.
I want to be competing, not just taking part - my goal is to push it a bit further and see if I can do well on The European Tour
“I’ve won tournaments before but obviously nothing on this level, but this is where I want to be and I want to be competing, not just taking part.
“I’m pleased with the way I played today, especially the front nine where I think I played really well. I didn’t finish quite the way I wanted to but it was still a good round.
“On 17 I hit a good shot off the tee but my ball was then just behind a divot and I came up short of the green, but I hit a great chip that I thought was going to go in.
“A few people have asked me about going to America to study but that’s definitely not the case – I want to stay here in Europe. I pretty much have my Challenge Tour card for next year.
“That was always my goal and then you want to push it just a little bit further and see if you can go on and do well on The European Tour as well.”
Scotland’s McLeary is one of the form players in the field, currently sitting ninth in the Road to Oman Rankings after four top ten finishes this season.
These included a tie for fifth at last week’s Northern Ireland Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank, as well as victory at the KPMG Trophy, and the 34 year old is happy with his all-round game at the moment.
“I’m quite relaxed out there,” he said. “I think that’s why I’m holing so many putts, I’m calm over the ball and giving everything a chance to drop.
“I like the course, it really suits my eye because you have to shape it both ways off the tee, and a lot of thought process needs to go into the golf course which I enjoy.
“I’m in an ok position in the Rankings, I just need to keep playing well for the rest of the year and not have to force things. A win would give me a bit of breathing space, which would be ideal, but my game is in good shape so I’ll keep playing like this and should finish well.”
France’s Calmels and Germany’s Schneider were the main climbers at the top, both shooting 67 to draw level with McLeary and South African Stone, who fired a bogeyless back nine of four under par to remain in contention for his first Challenge Tour victory after a runner-up finish at this year’s Barclays Kenya Open.
In front of strong local support from nearby Turku, amateur Kristian Kulokorpi fired a second round in the 60s to finish on six under par, one shot ahead of compatriots Linus Vaisanen and Roope Kakko.
Kakko, winner of his maiden European Tour title at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI in his last outing (highlights below), recovered from a scrappy opening nine holes to shoot 71 and remain on five under par.
With the cutline at level par, a number of notable faces failed to make it to the weekend, including Welshman Rhys Davies, third in the Road to Oman Rankings, and last week’s Northern Ireland Open champion Clément Sordet.
