It was a topsy-turvy round for Oliver Bekker on Friday as he made an eagle, three birdies and five bogeys to card a level-par 72 and reach the halfway mark of the DP World Tour’s Catalunya Championship in Spain in a share of second.
Bekker started his round on the 10th, and bogeyed the 11th. But he got back to six-under straight away before an eagle on the 15th saw him take the solo lead. He bogeyed the 16th and first but a two-putt birdie on the par-five third had him back in a share. He gave back shots to par on the fifth and ninth, and birdied the eighth.
Laurie Canter will take a one-shot lead into the weekend after carding a 67. The Englishman was four shots off the lead at the start of play but fired the lowest round of day two with a 67 to get to seven-under and lead the way from countryman James Morrison and Bekker.
Dane Thomas Bjørn, Spaniard Ivan Cantero Gutierrez, Kiwi Ryan Fox, England’s Daniel Gavins and Frenchman Adrien Saddier were then at five-under.
Darren Fichardt, who shared the first-round lead with Bekker, signed for a two-over 74 to be in a share of ninth on four-under. Hennie du Plessis also had a 74 and was in a share of 26th on two-under, together with Thriston Lawrence after the Joburg Open champion’s level-par second round. Justin Walters had a two-over 74 to be one-under in a share of 35th, while Daniel van Tonder got to one-over with his 70.
Zander Lombard, Jacques Kruyswijk, Richard Sterne, Brandon Stone and Haydn Porteous missed the cut.
