Jeong weon Ko enhanced his position at the top of the Swiss Challenge leaderboard by posting a four under par round of 68 on day two at Golf Saint Apollinaire.
The Frenchman, who shared the lead with South African Bryce Easton overnight, moved into the solo lead as he reached ten under par and one clear of Denmark’s Martin Simonsen, who is second on nine under after posting a five under round of 67.
Ko carded three birdies and two bogeys on his front nine to make the turn one under par, before an eagle, one bogey and two birdies coming in moved him to the top of the leaderboard and he was pleased to keep up his impressive form on the greens.
“It feels great right now,” he said. “I had a tough start, and I wasn’t playing my best at the beginning of the day. I had to remain patient and then I started getting some good breaks, notably holing out from the bunker on the 16th hole. The back nine was a lot better for me and I started to play my normal game. My putting and short game was really good today, so I am happy with my consistency.
“I was frustrated on my 17th hole because I missed the green with a wedge but I was delighted to finish with a birdie on my 18th. The wind stayed low throughout my round which made it tricky because it was hard to use it to my advantage on certain holes.”
The 24-year-old has been in red-hot form with four top ten finishes in his last six starts and believes having his dad as caddie has been pivotal to his recent success.
“It’s nice to have some company with my dad on the bag and whenever I get frustrated, I can talk things through with him and that helps me,” he said. “I’ve been close to getting over the line for the past month and I know that my first win will come eventually. I’m going to keep playing my game and see where I end up.”
Englishman Ben Stow posted the low round of the day, a six under par 66, to move into third place on eight under, while Swede Jesper Svensson is a shot further back in fourth.
Easton, New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, and Spaniard Manuel Elvira share fifth on six under par, while Irishman John Murphy and Sweden's Mikael Lundberg share eighth on five under.
