Florian Fritsch continued his imperious form on day two of the Norwegian Challenge with a round of 67 for a 13 under par aggregate total.
The German remains one stroke ahead of France’s Benjamin Hebert after dropping just one shot in 36 holes at Miklagard Golf Club, on the outskirts of the Norwegian capital Oslo.
Fritsch picked up where he left off on the opening day with back-to-back birdies from the first hole, before adding a further gain at the fifth to turn in 33 shots.
After three more birdies on the back nine, Fritsch appeared to be running away with the tournament but a three-putt bogey on the 17th green has given some hope to the rest of the field.
He said: “My long game was very good again today. I managed to stay out of trouble off the tee and hit a lot of iron shots close, so it added up to another good day. I didn’t hole any long putts but made six good birdie putts from inside ten feet, so that was pleasing.
“It felt like a good 67 today – there was nothing scrappy or lucky about it, and I was never in any real danger. So I’m in a good place at the moment, but I won’t be getting ahead of myself because I know how quickly things can turn around in this game.”
Hebert is acutely aware of the potential pitfalls of leading, having surrendered a three-shot advantage on the final day in Azerbaijan last week.
But as soon as he arrived in Kløfta, the Brive resident felt utterly at ease and he again showed his liking for the Robert Trent Jones Jnr layout with five birdies.
Hebert said: “I was very pleased with no bogeys today. My driving was perfect today, which meant I could be aggressive with my second shots and I knew that if I kept giving myself chances I would take some of them, because I’ve been putting well.
“It’s great to be in contention again going into the weekend, and if anything I probably feel even more comfortable on this course than I did last week. A few holes in Azerbaijan gave me some problems, but here I can see the lines and see the shots on every hole, so I feel good.
“When I saw Florian had got off to a fast start I knew I needed to start making some birdies, because I started a bit slowly. I felt a little bit flat at the beginning of my round, but hopefully I can get off to a better start in the morning and then keep it going.”
Hebert’s compatriot Sebastian Gros is currently in third place on nine under par after adding a round of 67 to his 68 on the opening day.
The only blemish of an otherwise immaculate display came at the ninth hole, his last, but the bogey did little to dampen Frenchman’s delight.
He said: “I managed to put it close a few times so wasn’t reliant on the putter for too many of my birdies, and because I’m a fairly long hitter I’m also able to reach the par fives in two, so that makes life a lot easier.
“This course is set up really well for my style of play. The rough can be quite thick in places but the fairways are fairly forgiving, so you can use your driver a lot which plays to my strengths.
“I’ve only played a few tournaments on the Challenge Tour, but I’m hoping to play a few more this season because it’s not working out too well for me on the Asian Tour at the moment. It can be very difficult to adjust to the heat and the humidity, and also the grain on the greens takes some getting used to. So I’ve really struggled with my putting but I feel a lot more comfortable on the greens in Europe and especially the greens here this week, which are great.”
Another Frenchman, Cyril Bouniol, is one shot back in fourth place after his second successive round of 68.
