James Kingston carded a six under par second round of 66 to take a share of the Willow Senior Golf Classic lead on nine under par.
The South African started the day three strokes behind overnight leaders Gary Orr and Peter Fowler but moved to the top of the leaderboard with a flawless round. He birdied two of the first four holes, and then made consecutive gains on the 16thand 17th– his seventh and eighth holes.
Kingston then birdied the first hole and finished with his sixth of the day on the par five ninth to join Orr, Fowler and Miguel Angel Martín in a share of first place.
“We got lucky with the weather I think,” said Kingston. “It was a little less windy than yesterday, and with a bit of rain overnight the greens offered enough chances.
“I’m happy with six under today. I had a few more chances today, but I’m pleased with that performance.
“I birdied some of the holes you wouldn’t expect to get birdies on – sometimes that’s the way it goes. It was nice to finish with a birdie on the ninth after missing a few other opportunities.
“It’s the kind of course where you have to golf your ball properly. You have to find the best spots on the greens, and when you do that you give yourself chances.”
Fowler reached ten under par before running into trouble on the back nine. After carding four birdies over the first ten holes, he finished one over par through the final eight holes.
“It was a good day but there were a couple of loose shots out there, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” said Fowler. “I have to sharpen up a little bit, but my putting is the best it has been for a while. I just need to sharpen up off the tee.”
Santiago Luna and Rafael Gomez share fifth place on eight under par, and Clark Dennis, Stephen Dodd and Paul Eales are in seventh place on seven under.
Jonathan Lomas recorded the lowest round of the tournament so far, a seven under par 65 to join last week’s VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) winner David Shacklady on six under par in tenth place.
