Oliver Farr carded seven birdies on the way to a five under par second round of 67 to take a two-shot clubhouse lead at the Turkish Airlines Challenge, where the afternoon groups were yet to finish.
The Welshman did not get off the best of starts at the pristine National Golf Club on day two, bogeying the tenth – his first – but a birdie at the par three 11th was a much more accurate representation of what was to come.
Four birdies in the space of six holes from the 15th to the second put him right in the mix at the top of the leaderboard and, while his second bogey of the day came at the sixth hole, he picked up two more shots at the seventh and ninth to move two clear on five under par.
“It was just one of those rounds where I hit a lot of good shots, which you have to do around this course,” said the 26 year old, who won the satellite EuroPro Tour Rankings last year. “If you’re slightly off you can be punished. I hit two bad shots today and I had two bogeys from them.
“Other than that I was really in control and I holed some good putts so five under is a score I'm really happy with out there.
“I think the greens yesterday afternoon were very baked out and firm so I found it hard to control the shots. My chipping was quite good yesterday to shoot level but today I had a lot of wedge approach shots, which was nice, and I controlled them really well.
“I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend. I haven’t looked at the scoreboards much today but five under is pretty good after two rounds so I'm happy with that.”
Overnight leader Guillaume Cambis of France signed for a level par round of 72 to remain on four under for the tournament and in second place, while Australia’s Scott Arnold was a shot further back on three under after a one under 71.
