Sam Hutsby stormed into the lead midway through the second day at the ALLIANZ Open de Lyon after the Englishman carded a superb eight under par round of 63 to move two shots clear at Golf de Gouverneur.
After a disappointing season on The European Tour, Hutsby has returned to the Challenge Tour and had a mixed bag in Spain last week as he carded an albatross but failed to make the weekend cut.
The 24 year old has returned to form in France this week, however, and an incredible six under par back nine helped him to the clubhouse lead, two shots clear of compatriot Phillip Archer, Frenchman Baptiste Chapellan and Swede Steve Jeppesen.
“I hit it close at the 10th, my first, and holed that so that was a nice start and from there on I just putted really well,” said Hutsby. “The greens are rolling really nice, they’re soft so if you get the yardage right you can get it close and then they roll really well. It’s obviously a nice feeling to capitalise on the chances you give yourself.
“I played quite poorly yesterday and my driving wasn’t good. I played the par threes in three under but the par fives in two over so I thought if I could do well on the par fives today it would be a better day and I did a bit of work on the range on my ball flight and it paid off.”
In second place were Phillip Archer, Chapellan and Jeppeson, who carded an eagle three at the par five third hole on the way to a second consecutive four under par round of 67 after two steady days in which he has carded only two bogeys.
The 28 year old is another player who needs a very good finish to the season if he is to have a chance of competing in the season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final but he is happy with how his game is shaping up for the final stretch of tournaments.
“It has been a steady two days,” said Jeppesen. “I hit some good golf shots and also made a few putts, especially today.
“It was solid. I was a little bit further away from the pin today than I was yesterday but I made a couple of good putts and on the 14th I leaked my second shot a little. I wanted to hit it too close to the water and it bounced in and I got a bogey but other than that, it was a good day.
“I think towards the end of the season I've put in a lot of practice and the pieces are coming together now.
“It has been a frustrating year, I've been struggling with my putting and also from the tee which is not very good because they are the two key things in golf I reckon. But it’s getting there, especially with my putting. I'm very comfortable over the ball on the greens so that’s nice.”
