Jack McDonald will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge.
The Scot, who recorded an eight under par round of 63 – his lowest career round on the European Challenge Tour on day one – backed it up with a six under round of 65 on day two.
McDonald started the day five strokes behind history maker Lauri Ruuska but surpassed the Finn on Friday afternoon to reach a total of 14 under par.
The 30-year-old started on the tenth hole and quickly closed the gap to the top with an eagle at his third hole of the day. Gains either side of his only bogey of the round came at the 13th and 15th before he finished his opening nine holes with another birdie at the 18th.
He joined Ruuska in a share of the lead at the start of the back nine, picking up another stroke at the first hole, before taking the outright lead at the fifth.
With the lead at the halfway stage, McDonald was delighted with his opening rounds of golf to lead at Vierumäki Resort.
“I played very similar to the way I played yesterday. It’s great to see the ball going in the hole,” he said.
“I had quite a few birdies and there was an eagle in there today, which is always good to see. Again, I got off to a hot start which kept me going and I holed a couple of good par putts coming in as well.
“I feel really good with my game. I know it sounds cliché but I’m taking one shot at a time, and everything seems to be clicking. My short game is good. My putting is good. Getting to 14 under after two rounds is great.
“I’m just taking each week as it comes. The game of golf is really difficult at the best of times, so the way I see it is to go out and enjoy it. That’s what I wanted to do this year – keep enjoying playing golf because that’s when I play my best.
“I going to go out there tomorrow and enjoy it again. I think the weather should be fairly similar, but I don’t know if the winds might change. I’ve played here quite a lot and played it in different conditions.”
Overnight leader and history maker Ruuska signed for a second round 70 following his opening round of 59 on home soil and sits one back. Meanwhile, Kristoffer Broberg is two shots further behind in third place at 11 under par, with Czech Republic’s Filip Mruzek and Curtis Knipes of England sharing fourth place on ten under par.
It was also day of celebration for Englishman Steven Brown, who recorded his first hole-in-one in tournament play, holing out from 187 yards at the 17th hole. The DP World Tour winner carded a round of six under par to sit in a tie of 12th place.
McDonald will tee off at 12:35 local time with Ruuska and Broberg, with the third starting at 08:41 local time.
