Quim Vidal will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend of the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A after signing for a six under par second round of 65 at SCHLOSS Roxburghe.
The Spaniard started the day seven under and mixed five birdies with an eagle and a solitary bogey on day two to move to 13 under par for the week, two shots clear of Scottish duo Euan Walker and Daniel Young.
Vidal opened his second round with four consecutive pars before making back-to-back birdies on five and six.
The 25-year-old dropped his only shot on the seventh, but moved three under par for the day thanks to an eagle on the par five 11th before making three further back nine gains.
“I was playing great,” he said. “I wasn’t making a whole lot of putts, but I was playing very well.
“I hit it a bit closer on the back nine, so it was easier to roll those in. I had a three iron from around 210 meters on the 11th and managed to hit to two feet for an easy eagle.”
Vidal, who sealed a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at March’s Delhi Challenge, currently sits 12th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and would all but secure a first promotion to the DP World Tour with victory this weekend.
However, after coming off a missed cut at the German Challenge powered by VcG and a 69th place finish at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge, the Spaniard is looking to temper his expectations heading into the final 36 holes.
“I haven’t played that well the last few tournaments, but I’ll try and perform as well as I can,” he added. “I don’t want to have too many expectations this weekend.
“The course suits me as it’s nice and firm which helps me because I don’t hit it too far. I’ve been hitting short irons into the greens which helps, and the greens are rolling nicely, which is good to see.”
Denmark’s Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen holds solo fourth on ten under par, one shot clear of Scotsmen David Law and Marc Warren, German Marc Hammer and Italian Aron Zemmer.
Road to Mallorca Number One Joshua Berry, Englishman Tom Lewis and Scot Will Porter form a three-way tie for ninth on eight under par. French pair Julien Quesne and Maxence Giboudot, and England’s Will Enefer, who broke the course record on Thursday, are on seven under and in a tie for 12th.
The third round of the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A gets under way at 8:24am on Saturday with Vidal teeing off alongside Young and Walker at 12:59pm local time.
