Hugo Townsend produced the round of the day to storm into the outright lead heading into the weekend of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil.
The Swede carded a bogey-free eight under par round of 64 on day two to lead by one shot ahead of the chasing pack which sees ten players separated by just two shots.
The 24-year-old, playing in only his second tournament as a professional, started his round on the tenth and birdied holes 11, 12 and 14, before an eagle at the par five 17th saw him climb into the top ten. Three consecutive birdies followed on the back nine as he signed for a nine under par total. At the top of a leaderboard for the first time in his professional career, Townsend admitted the experience is one that he’s enjoying.
“It’s fun learning out here and it’s fun to compete,” he said. “I’m seeing it as a learning experience and I’m hoping I can keep playing well. I’m going to keep doing the same things and will make sure I’m not putting too much pressure on myself.
“I’ll stay aggressive though. I’m normally pretty good off the tee so if I can keep that going, I’ll have a good chance.”
Townsend played as an amateur in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed on the DP World Tour earlier this month where he finished 11th, turning professional the following week.
The Swede then teed it up in the Kaskáda Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic, before arriving in France where he feels his accuracy off the tee was rewarded on day two.
“I felt like the ball bounced my way,” he said. “It’s getting firm out there and I was having to get up and down and hole some good putts.
“Being accurate off the tee is key. If you miss the fairway there’s a chance you won’t find your ball. It’s deep rough and you’ve got to stay patient, hit good tee shots and hopefully hole some putts.”
Townsend tops a packed leaderboard, with South African Darren Fichardt, Welshman Oliver Farr and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick sharing second on eight under par.
Local favourite Grégory Bourdy is one shot further back in fifth on seven under par alongside five others including Scotsman Darren Drysdale, Englishman Ashley Chesters, Italian Gregorio De Leo, Finland’s Oliver Lindell and overnight leader Christopher Feldborg from Sweden.
The third round begins at 8:00am local time with Townsend teeing off alongside Fichardt and Farr at 12:11pm.
