David Law continued to impress in his homeland by carding a two under par round of 69 to lead by one at the halfway stage of the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.
The 27 year old held the overnight lead after signing for a blemish-free 66 in difficult conditions on Day One in the Scottish Highlands, and the man from Aberdeen backed that up today with another sub-70 score.
Starting at the par four 11thLaw continued from where he left off by holing a 12-foot putt for a birdie, and after a pair of bogeys and two further gains he reached the turn in 35.
Law, who co-led the KPMG Trophy in Belgium alongside Wales’s Stuart Manley two weeks ago, added two more birdies to his tally over his closing nine holes to go into the weekend with the outright lead on seven under par.
With Poland’s Adrian Meronk, Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo and Manley all just one back, Law knows the competition is fierce but believes that his recent experience of being contention will help him in his bid for a first European Challenge Tour title.
“I feel like I’ve played really well for a while,” said Law, who is playing in his 100thChallenge Tour event this week. “Although things didn’t go as planned in Belgium where I finished 13thI can draw on that this weekend. With so many good players around me I need to keep the foot down and just keep making birdies.
“The conditions were quite a bit easier today, and it is always pretty tough to follow up a good round with another, so I was very happy with how I played today.
“It was still breezy enough that you needed to think about it, but my iron play was good and my driving was good which is very important as if you drive it well here you can make a lot of birdies.
“The 11thand 12thare a tough place to start, as they are very difficult pins to get at. Those two holes can ruin your day, so to come away from those two holes in par was very pleasing.
“It’s my fifth season on the Challenge Tour, and I haven’t won yet which is hugely disappointing. To do it this weekend would be massive. If someone said to me you could win any tournament on the Challenge Tour, this would be it.”
Continuing his fine recent form was Manley who carded a two under par round of 69 today. The 39 year old triumphed last week at the Hauts de France Golf Open and finished as a runner-up a fortnight ago at the KPMG Trophy after losing out in a play-off.
The player who pipped Manley to the KPMG Trophy title was Figuereido who after a two under par round of 69 today is in a good position to challenge for more silverware this week.
On a good day for the home nation nine Scottish players progressed to the weekend, including Ross Kellett who signed for a 69 to make the cut on the number, which was two over par.
