Thomas Detry believes his game is in "great shape" as he goes in search of an elusive first DP World Tour victory on the Rolex Series stage at the BMW PGA Championship.
The Belgian has five runner-up finishes and 25 other top tens in 150 starts, having easily retained his playing privileges every season since graduating from the European Challenge Tour in 2016, with a best Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex finish of 18th in 2020.
But he has yet to taste individual victory, although he did win the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf for Belgium in 2018 alongside Thomas Pieters.
He has a taste for the big stage, with six of his 30 top tens coming in Rolex Series events, including a tie for fifth at Wentworth Club last season.
The 2022 edition of the event was reduced to 54 holes after the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II and while Detry revealed the feeling is very different 12 months later, he still felt confident of having a good week after a second-round 68 moved him to nine under.
"Emotions are definitely different than last year," he said. "Obviously we all know what happened last year. Still had a good week last year at Wentworth.
"I'm very pleased, to be honest. I felt very calm out there on the course. My game is in great shape so hopefully I can keep that same rhythm and that same feeling for the next two days.
"It was really good. I made some great putts, obviously got off to a bogey start but then after that I didn't really make any mistakes. Looking forward to the weekend."
Detry has split his playing time in 2023 between the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, achieving another second-place across the Atlantic, and he feels being an international player will only improve his game.
"I'm still the same player, same person still," he said. "But I feel like I've grown a lot, getting better.
"It hasn't been easy in the States. It's been a lot of travelling back and forth but I've really enjoyed it, to be honest. It's been great. It's been a lot of fun and it's great to be back home."
Japan's Masahiro Kawamura was alongside Detry at nine under after 36 holes following a brilliant, bogey-free 65, and he was happy with his score on one of his favourite layouts.
"I shot very good today, so very easy on this very difficult golf course," he said. "This is one of my favourite golf courses, so every year I enjoy to play this tournament."
