After reaching the turn in 29 Mattias Eliasson’s thoughts had turned to the magical mark of 59, but in the end the Swede had to settle for a round of 62 to lead by two shots from England's Andrew Willey on the second day of the DHL Wroclaw Open.
Following an opening round of 66 which featured a brace of eagles but also a trio of bogeys, consistency, concentration and control were the watchwords for Eliasson, whose five consecutive birdies on his front nine have put him in sight of his maiden European Challenge Tour title.
Eliasson, on 12 under par after the two days, said: “My round today was much more consistent, mainly because my putter was working. It was one of those days when most things went right. Even though I didn’t stiff all of my approach shots, most of my putts seemed to drop. It’s nice when it works out, because it doesn’t happen very often.
“After nine holes I was definitely thinking about shooting 59, because I’ve never done that before – not many golfers have. I’m still happy with a 62, although I would’ve liked to have taken the course record from Wil [Besseling].
“But obviously my main goal now is to win the tournament, because I’ve never won on The European Tour or the Challenge Tour before.”
The same applies to Willey, who is playing his maiden season on the Challenge Tour after finishing second in the PGA Europro Tour Rankings last year.
He added a round of 64 to his opening day 66 at Toya Golf and Country Club in Wroclaw for a ten under par total, to sit in second place on the leaderboard.
Complete article