Miguel Angel Martin fired a quartet of birdies in a front nine 32 to move three shots clear of the field midway through the second round at the Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) in Moscow.
The Spaniard had shared top spot overnight with England’s Simon P Brown after an opening six under par 66 on Friday and the in-form 51 year old looked to be continuing his fine run on Moving Day at Moscow Country Club.
The Madrid man, who has captured three top seven finishes in his last four starts on the European Senior Tour, made a mockery of the course statistics in making an opening birdie at the par four third hole – ranked as the hardest hole on the course this week – before a hat-trick of consecutive gains from the sixth hole saw Martin assemble a dominant lead over the chasing pack.
Playing alongside Martin in the final group on a damp and drizzly day on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Brown was looking solid if unspectacular in reaching the turn one under par for the day to remain within three of the lead.
This week looking for his second successive Senior Tour victory after his maiden triumph at Woburn two weeks ago, Colin Montgomerie also moved into contention with four birdies in his front nine before a first dropped shot of the day at the 12th saw the Scot slip back into a share of third alongside Australia’s Mike Harwood on six under par for the tournament as the day progressed.
