Thriston Lawrence reeled off six consecutive birdies and then holed out from a bunker for a superb par save to take a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters, as he chases a third title at the event to match the late Seve Ballesteros.
The defending champion, from South Africa, carded a bogey-free, seven-under 63 on Friday to reach 13 under par heading into the weekend in Switzerland. He leads Germany's Jeremy Paul and Spain's Ignacio Elvira by two shots after Elvira carded the round of the day, an eight-under 62.
Chasing Ballesteros
Ballesteros is the only player to have won the Omega European Masters three times since it became a DP World Tour tournament in 1972, doing so in 1977, 1978 and 1989. Ballesteros, one of Spain's most celebrated golfers, won five major championships during his career, including three Open Championships and two Masters titles.
Lawrence has a chance to equal that record having already triumphed at Crans-sur-Sierre in 2022 and again last season. He is a five-time winner on the DP World Tour, twice of them at this event.
The rest of the leaderboard
Japan's Keita Nakajima sits fourth on 10 under, with England's Paul Casey among a group of three players sharing fifth place on nine under with 36 holes remaining.
Hall's hip injury
Casey's compatriot Harry Hall had reached 10 under through nine holes of his second round after five front-nine birdies saw him go out in 30. But a hip injury then hampered him, and he bogeyed three of his final five holes to slip back to seven under, six shots off the pace.
Lawrence's round in detail
Starting his round at the 10th, Lawrence parred five of his first six holes around a birdie at the 13th before catching fire from the 16th, where a superb tee shot left him a tap-in birdie.
The 29-year-old picked up shots at his next five holes too, with highlights including draining a putt from over 40 feet at the first and then holing out from off the green at the second.
Lawrence was unable to add to his birdie haul across the last third of his round but saved par at the fifth when he chipped in from the sand, his second attempt to escape the hazard after an earlier try with the putter had failed.
Lawrence, who has been without a top-10 finish since March, said afterwards: "I've played well all year. I've just been unfortunate so many times, missing the cut by one shot four or five times. I feel like I've been playing well, but mentally, I'm in a much better space."
"Seeing birdies and putts go in, I feel like you gain confidence from that. Coming back to a place I love is just extra confidence."
The chasing pack
Paul shot a six-under 64 in round two, with six birdies and an eagle, five of which came on his back nine, including a gain at the last, around bogeys at the seventh and ninth.
Elvira, one of four runners-up to Joe Dean at last week's British Masters at The Belfry, mixed nine birdies with a solitary bogey in his eight-under Friday round, chipping in for gains at the third and the ninth. It was his lowest round on the DP World Tour since July 2023.
What happens next
Round three of the Omega European Masters is scheduled for Saturday, with the final round to follow on Sunday.
