Day two digest: Turkish Airlines Open

Everything you need to know from the second round at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

Matthias marched on, Rolex Series regulars stayed in the hunt and Perfect Pablo made an ace on Friday in Antalya.

Here is everything you need to know from the second round at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

Schwab continues to thrive

Matthias Schwab has been trending towards a maiden European Tour victory for a while and this could be the week he breaks through on the big stage. The Austrian followed up his opening 65 with a 67 to lead by one at 12 under but he had an impressive group chasing him down. Double Rolex Series champions Alex Noren and Danny Willett were at 11 under alongside another Ryder Cupper in Ross Fisher and Belgian Thomas Detry - who finished third in this event last season. Oh, and two time defending champion Justin Rose was two back. "I think I'll have to play aggressive golf and keep the foot on the gas pedal," said Schwab. "Pars will definitely not be enough this weekend."

Fisher accepts invitation to go low

Ross Fisher has five European Tour wins and a Ryder Cup victory under his belt but he had to rely on an invitation to get into the first of the season's three closing Rolex Series events. He entered the week 106th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex with no top tens this season but made a mockery of that position to sign for a 64 and sit just one off the lead. "The game's been good for a while," he said. "Just for some reason, I just haven't really shot the scores that I feel like the way I'm playing. I don't want to say deserve but it's not been as good as I feel like it should be." Class is permanent and all that.

MacIntyre mauls The Maxx

Robert MacIntyre's rookie season on the European Tour has been nothing short of remarkable and the Scot is showing no sign of slowing down as the 2019 Race to Dubai edges towards its conclusion. On Friday in Turkey he matched his lowest round with nine birdies in a 63 that moved him to nine under and right in the hunt for a maiden victory after finishing second three times so far in 2019. At ninth in the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex, he is in the box seat to be crowned the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year but a victory on Sunday could put him on course to claim the big prize and be crowned Europe's Number One in Dubai. "I'll just stay aggressive," he said. "It's a golf course that I can do that so just going to continue to do that and see where we end up."

The three amigos

It wasn't just MacIntyre impressing on Friday, his playing partners were going low as well. Fresh off securing a Captain's Pick for the Presidents Cup, Patrick Reed carded a 65 and Nacho Elvira completed the trio with a 67. Between them, they made an eagle, 22 birdies and just three bogeys. "It was great, everyone was able to feed off each other," said Reed. Indeed.

Perfection for Pablo

They say that events are won at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal at the five par fives but the par threes can have an impact, too. On the fifth on Friday, Pablo Larrazábal unleashed a four iron from 219 yards and found the bottom of the cup for the 29th ace of the season.

And these weren't far off either.

Happy birthday Frankie

Major winner, Race to Dubai winner, Ryder Cup immortal and now cake. Francesco Molinari has a lot to smile about as he turns 37.