Félix Mory signed for a six under par round of 65 to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Dormy Open.
The Frenchman, who started the day in a share of the lead, fired seven birdies during Friday’s second round at Upsala GolfKlubb to move to 14 under par for the week, one shot clear of England’s John Gough.
Mory, starting on the tenth, made five front nine birdies to turn in just 31 strokes. A gain on the fourth was followed by a first dropped shot of the week on the testing par four eighth, however, the 30-year-old responded with a closing birdie on the ninth.
“I was happy with my attitude today,” he said. “I started the round with two close chances which I missed but I just kept patient, set up a few more opportunities, and made a few putts.
“I’m putting well and driving it pretty straight at the minute. I did everything pretty well today. There was nothing crazy, but everything was good.”
Following his bogey on eight, Mory produced a pinpoint approach on the ninth to set up a routine birdie to move back into the solo lead. The Frenchman, who is eyeing a second win at the Dormy Open following his triumph in 2021, was pleased with how he executed the closing stages of his second round.
“We all made bogeys on eight in my group,” he added. “You’re going to make bogeys; it’s part of the game. It was nice to finish with a birdie on nine but again, you can’t force it.
“You have to try and hit good shots and if it comes, it comes. You’ve just got to keep trying to hit good shots.”
The Frenchman currently sits 12th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings having already tasted victory at the Swiss Challenge earlier in the year. Despite knowing a win would massively boost his chances of securing promotion to the DP World Tour, Mory is looking to remain focussed with 36 holes left to play in Uppsala.
“It’s coming to the end of the season, so we all know where we stand,” he said. “At the end of the day, what matters is doing our job and trying to get better.
“I know that if I have a good attitude and try to get better, the rest will take care of itself. I’m looking forward to having fun this weekend on a great course. There are a lot of fun shots to hit.”
Englishman Jamie Rutherford holds solo third on 12 under, one shot clear of Australian Hayden Hopewell and Danish pair Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen and Anders Emil Ejlersen.
New Zealander Sam Jones sits at 10 under par, one shot ahead of England’s Alfie Plant, South African Bryce Easton, Icelander Magnus Haraldur, Swede Hugo Townsend, American Chase Hanna and Dutchman Vince van Veen.
The third round of the Dormy Open gets under way at 8:00am on Saturday with Mory teeing off alongside Gough and Rutherford at 12:00pm.
