DP World Tour : Omega European Masters..Tee Times
Thriston Lawrence is on track to emulate Seve Ballesteros and win the Omega European Masters for a third time after the defending champion opened up a two-shot lead at the halfway stage in Switzerland.
On another day of favourable scoring conditions, the South African carded seven birdies in a flawless 63 on Friday to reach -13 under to remain bogey-free through his opening 36 holes at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Spain’s Nacho Elvira, runner-up last week at The Belfry, shot the low round of the week so far with a 62 to join Germany’s Jeremy Paul, making his debut in Crans-Montana, as his closest challengers at -11, with Keita Nakajima a shot further back at -10
Lawrence, who first won the title in 2022, could join Ballesteros as just the second player to claim a hat-trick of wins in Crans-Montana since the tournament became a DP World Tour event in 1972, while he would become the sixth in its 103-year history.
Appearing at home in the altitude of the Valais fairways, the five-time DP World Tour winner began his second round among the morning wave off the tenth tee and picked up his first shot of the day at the par three 13th.
Without a top ten to his name since the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO in March, a return to a course he knows and has enjoyed success at has provided a welcome boost.
“To be honest, I've played well all year,” he said. I've just been so unfortunate so many times, missing the cut by one shot four or five times.
I feel like I've been playing well, but mentally, I'm in a much better space. Obviously, seeing birdies and seeing putts go in, I feel like you gain confidence from that.
Coming back to a place I love is just extra confidence.”
Elvira won his third DP World Tour title earlier this season at the Dubai Invitational and is in the hunt to claim dual membership with the PGA TOUR at the end of the season.
The 39-year-old boosted those hopes by making a big leap up the leaderboard on an eventful day that saw him mix nine birdies with one bogey fo 62.
“I’m hitting the ball off the tee pretty well which I think is key here,” he said. The rough is a little bit more severe this year, it’s very penalising. I’m just happy to give myself some chances and I’m actually putting really well.
“Last week I finished second, but I didn’t think I hit my irons really well. I hit it well off the tee and putted well. I’ve been doing a little bit of work and I’m getting more comfortable little by little. We’ll see about the weekend.”
Germany’s Jeremy Paul, has made a quick adjustment in the Swiss Alps. The 32-year-old, who usually plies his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour, mixed an eagle with six birdies and two bogeys to post a 64 and go one lower than his first-round total.
“I've got my wife on the bag this week, so the vibes are high,” he reflected.
“She's not really into the golf world too much, so it's quite refreshing, you know, because we're not too focused on the score and we were just enjoying it and she knows what's good, what's bad, but that's as far as it goes.
“I had a really good back nine. I hit the ball really well, and then rolled in the putts and the opportunities I had, so it was fantastic to turn it around and not let that little middle stretch get in the way of a good day.”
Nakajima made seven birdies in a flawless 63 to reach -10, with the Japanese DP World Tour winner making just his sixth start of the season as a dual member.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello was in a group of players at -9, having used a makeshift set of clubs including irons used by Adam Scott over the opening two days, alongside Paul Casey and Wu.
Harry Hall got to -10 through nine holes of his second round, but a hip injury halted his progress and he bogeyed three of his final five holes to finish the day at -7 in a large group that also includes leading Swiss player Joel Girrbach.
The cut fell at -3 with Danish pair Nicolai Højgaard and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen among the notables who will miss the weekend's action which included Canadian rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju in his DP World Tour debut.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
