Stiggy Hodgson battled the elements to card a two under par round of 70 and take a one shot lead at the halfway stage of the Volopa Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.
The Englishman overcame high winds and torrential rain during his second round at Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort to pick up three birdies on his way to signing for his second successive 70.
The 26 year old, who represented Great Britain and Ireland in the 2009 Walker Cup, is four under par overall and sits one ahead of overnight leader Sam Walker and Wales’s Rhys Enoch.
The Chester man was delighted that he managed to keep his composure in difficult conditions, and is looking forward to tackling the Carlow course again over the weekend.
“I had a really good game plan,” he said. “Me and my caddie George both realised early on that even in good conditions it is not going to be a low scoring day with 16,17 and 18 under par scores – which suits me.
“It was about patience and digging in as it wasn’t a day for perfect golf at all. That worked to my advantage as it takes out the long hitting because you had to shape the ball and you had to flight it so much. If you did that you could make the most of it.
“We just put it in the places where we thought we could make par. A bad shot today was really exaggerated because of the conditions. I played with my good friend Emilio Cuartero Blanco and he hit a few five or six yards off line but it ended up being 30 yards off line because the wind was so strong.
“A couple of things went well out there. There were a couple of tweaks with the driver, which was was really important. The last few weeks I have driven well which is important for me because I am not the longest hitter.
“If I put myself in good positions then I can do what I want with the ball – by shaping it right or left. In these conditions today that was a really big advantage. It was a case today of how good your worst shot was.
“I am out here to do a job and keep going with the same game plan over the weekend. It is only halfway, there are a lot of good players out there, and there is a long way to go.”
Enoch, who was in the first group out this morning, made six birdies on his way to carding a five under par round of 67 – which was the best score of the day.
Bernd Ritthammer, Clément Sordet and Adrien Saddier, who have all won on the 2016 Road to Oman, sit two back on two under par where they are joined by Spain’s Pep Angles.
Northern Ireland’s Cormac Sharvin made the cut which was set at four over par - the highest cut of the European Challenge Tour season so far.
