Teenage amateur Marcus Kinhult proved his opening round was no fluke when he took the outright lead on day two of the Nordea Masters in his native Sweden on Friday.
After carding a superb five under par 67 at PGA Sweden National to share the overnight lead, Kinhult shot a 68 on day two to set the clubhouse target on nine under par.
Kinhult sits two shots clear of fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg and Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer, who looked set to top the leaderboard before carding back-to-back bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes.
The 18 year old, who plays at the same club as five time European Tour winner Barry Lane on the west coast of Sweden, started on the back nine and reached the turn in 34 before making another gain at the par five first.
Kinhult dropped his first shot of the day when he three-putted the sixth, but responded immediately with a birdie from ten feet on the seventh.
He then recovered from finding a bunker on the ninth by producing one of the shots of the day, a superb approach from 190 yards to 15 feet, before calmly rolling in the birdie putt.
The winner of the recent Lytham Trophy, a prestigious amateur event, Kinhult again enjoyed playing in front of big crowds in Malmö.
“I’m pretty happy with my score and where I am in the tournament,” he said. “Today was more of a solid round from tee to green and I made two big putts, but my putting wasn’t as good as it was yesterday. My game feels good at the moment.
“It’s pretty special to play a European Tour event – this is only my second time doing that. And to play at home in Sweden makes it even more special.
“There were some big crowds on the last few holes which was a lot of fun, and I think there will be a few more watching over the weekend.
“I’m just going to try to stick to my game plan and keep doing the things that have brought me here.
“That’s the key – to do everything as I always do.
“The Lytham Trophy win gave me a lot of confidence. I haven’t had that many wins before, so to get one there was a great feeling and a big boost to my confidence.”
Asked whether he has received advice from 54 year old Lane, Kinhult said: "Barry is a great guy. We live on the same island, a small island up on the west coast. We’ve practised a few times together and this year in April we played with Joel Sjoholm as well – he’s also from the same golf club.
"Barry won by four shots or something. He’s a great player and a great guy. He gives me some great advice and I think I can learn a lot from him."
England’s Mark Foster made a hole-in-one at the fourth from 215 yards, while Alvaro Quiros carded five birdies in a row on his way to a score of 66, which takes him to three under par for the tournament.
