Andreas Halvorsen carded a second consecutive six-under-par round of 66 at Odense Eventyr Golf to take a one stroke lead after 36 holes of the Danish Golf Challenge.
The Norwegian entered the second round tied for the overnight lead and made a fast start, carding five birdies on the front nine alongside a bogey at the seventh. Despite a further bogey on the 12th, he made three further gains to match his opening round 66 and take pole position at 12-under-par.
The 27-year-old was delighted with his play over the first two days in Odense and highlighted his putting as the lynchpin of his good scoring.
“I’ve been rolling it really well on the greens,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been too aggressive, but I’ve been putting well - that’s been the key so far.
“It definitely takes a little bit of pressure off not needing to hit it too close and knowing I can still make a 15-footer.
“I tried to play the holes basically the same as I did yesterday, but still not really risking it too much.”
The 2024 Road to Mallorca is Halvorsen’s first season on the Challenge Tour and he has taken full advantage of his playing opportunities, making the cut in all five of his starts. The Norwegian entered the weekend at the Challenge de España earlier this month in a tie for second place, and he is looking forward to chasing victory again this weekend in Denmark.
“I’m excited for it,” he said. “I played well in Spain and got good experience there being near the lead.
“I haven’t really been in that position on this tour before, so it’s nice to get another experience here and it will be fun to see how I handle that.
“I’m not hitting it great off the tee, so I’ll try to minimise risk but still give myself some good chances.”
Fellow overnight leader Icelander Gudmundur Kristjansson carded a 67 to finish the day in second at 11-under-par, two shots ahead of South African Oliver Bekker in third. Spaniard Joel Moscatel, Dane Frederik Birkelund, and Swede Hugo Townsend are then a further shot back.
Seven players are tied for seventh at seven-under-par, including Road to Mallorca Number One Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Scot Ryan Lumsden, and Englishman Bradley Bawden, who carded the low score of the day with an eight-under-par round of 64.
The third round gets under way at 9:00am on Saturday morning, with Halvorsen teeing it up alongside Kristjansson and Bekker at 11:09am.
