JC Ritchie will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Italian Challenge Open at Golf Nazionale, as he targets back-to-back wins on the HotelPlanner Tour.
The South African arrived in Italy after recording a second win of the season in Portugal last week, and carded a faultless nine-under-par second round of 63 on day two to reach 12-under-par for the week. He leads by one from Spaniards Rocco Repetto Taylor and Albert Boneta, Sweden’s Christofer Rahm and Englishman Will Enefer who share second.
Ritchie, starting on the back nine, made three birdies on his way out before posting six birdies coming in, and he was delighted with all facets of his game on a low-scoring day in Sutri.
“That was close to perfect,” he said. “I hit the ball super well. We’ve got an absolute perfect day out here, there’s no wind to talk about, it’s 30 degrees and sunny.
“I ripped it the first six holes and didn’t make anything. I made a crucial par-putt on seven which got my day going, then made a couple of birdies around the turn.
“I made about a 90-foot putt up the hill on 13 and that really kick-started me making some putts.”
Ritchie is a six-time winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, with victories in the German Challenge powered by VcG in July and the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos just last week seeing him climb to second on the 2025 Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The 31-year-old will earn automatic promotion to the DP World Tour should he secure a third victory of the season in Italy, a result that would also see him rise to the summit of the rankings for the first time.
“This is my third season with multiple wins so I’d like to get three, that would be really nice, but for now that’s not the goal,” he added.
“I feel like the win last week did a lot for me. I didn’t realise until after the week how tough it actually was. It’s lifted my confidence this week with a few more putts going in which is always nice.
“It’s always nice to be in contention, but I’ll just keep doing my job.”
Overnight leader Lars van der Vight from the Netherlands shares sixth place on 10-under-par alongside Swedish duo Tobias Jonsson and Robin Petersson, England’s George Bloor and Spaniard Borja Virto.
