Gary Marks took a five shot lead at the Willow Senior Golf Classic after carding a stunning nine under par second round of 63 at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club.
Marks started the day five under par after a first round 67, but surged up the leaderboard with five birdies on the front nine, making the turn in just 31 shots.
His card remained blemish-free on the back nine as the 2016 Senior Tour Qualifying School winner added four more birdies, including consecutive gains on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. to move to 14 under par for the tournament.
“I’m thrilled,” said Marks. “When you start playing well, nobody knows if they’re going to continue playing well the following day. I played well yesterday, but messed up the last and went from seven under down to five under.
“I started the round trying to be aggressive and not nervous and I played well today. I’m very happy.”
Playing in just his 17th event on the over-50s circuit, Marks admitted he finds himself in uncharted territory as he will be in the final group for Sunday’s final round.
“It’s nice to have a five-shot lead,” he said. “That’s a bonus. I birdied the ninth to go to 10 under and I saw we had James Kingston in the clubhouse on nine under par, and Ross Drummond was 11 under at one point.
“I kept making birdies down the back nine, and anyone would be happy with that. I am in uncharted territory but tomorrow I’ll probably stay aggressive.
“It’s my typical way of playing, and I wouldn’t want to be too cautious until anything was absolutely secure. It would be the biggest win of my career.
I’ve won on the Challenge Tour and on the Alps Tour, but this would be the biggest for sure – I shouldn’t be thinking about that just yet though.”
Trailing Marks on nine under par South African Kingston and Scotland’s Drummond. Kingston, winner of the South African Airways Open in 2008 and Mercedes-Benz Championship in 2009, added a four under par round of 68 to Friday’s opening 67.
After making his Senior Tour debut at the SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open in June, he is pleased to have found his feet after seven events.
“I didn’t play golf for almost 18 months,” he said. “I had a decent start, but knew I wasn’t quite ready. Each week I’m getting a little more comfortable and I’m picking up my loose ends again and getting to a point where my game is returning.”
Three-time European Tour winner Stephen Dodd shares fourth place with Mike Harwood on eight under par, and 2013 John Jacobs Trophy winner Paul Wesselingh is a shot further back in sixth place.
