Everything you need to know from the second round at Argentario Golf Club.
There was a new name at the top of the leaderboard and he had a stellar chasing pack breathing down his neck at the halfway stage of the 2025 Italian Open.
Here is everything you need to know from the second round at Argentario Golf Club.
Ayora takes over at the top
Angel Ayora produced a brilliant burst of scoring around the turn as he fired a flawless 65 on Friday to open up a one-shot lead. The 20-year-old made a series of stunning par saves in the first eight holes of his second round before picking up his first birdie from close range at the ninth. And he kept the momentum going, birdieing the tenth, 11th and 12th to make it four in a row and grab a share of the lead. HotelPlanner Tour graduate Ayora gave himself a golden opportunity to hit the front on his own with a spectacular approach into the 16th but could not convert the birdie putt from inside four feet. But he made no mistake from similar range on the 18th to reach nine under par, a total no-one else could match.
Halvorsen's birdie burst
Andreas Halvorsen gave the perfect response to a bogey early in his second round, birdieing each of the next four holes - from the 14th - to grab a share of the lead. Having started from the tenth tee, he turned in 32 before parring his way home to head into the weekend one shot off the lead.
Smith uses the slope
Jordan Smith's approach at the fourth hole was a thing of beauty. He sent his ball over the flag and used the slope to feed it down towards the hole for a tap-in birdie.
Cabrera Bello's 63
Rafa Cabrera Bello produced a big finish to set the new course record - which was later matched by Martin Couvra - rounding off his 63 with three successive birdies. Having opened with a six-over-par 76, the Spaniard needed to do something special on day two just to make it through to the weekend. And he did just that, carding a total of eight birdies and one bogey to move to one under par. He said: "It was nice to feel like the golf was easy. Sometimes you hit the shot, but don’t hit the putt or get a bounce here or there. Everything was working nicely. I got a little bit of luck and I really played good golf. More than anything, it’s a new course record, but I didn’t know if I was making the cut. I was two shots out of the cut with three holes to go and I managed to birdie the last three. I’m very happy to have been able to perform under pressure and to give myself two more days."
Bradbury finishes with a flourish
First-round leader Dan Bradbury started brightly on Friday but suffered a double bogey on the first as he kicked off his back nine. He managed to bounce back, though, birdieing the fifth and ninth to sign for a 68 and reach eight under par. And he revealed some wise words from his caddie helped. The Englishman, who sits one back at the halfway stage, said: "It was a nice way to finish. From one until four I was struggling, then on four my caddie Asa (Phillips) said to me to just slow it down a little bit, getting a little bit quick at the top. I did that and then from five onwards I played some really nice stuff again. I’ll try and keep that going tomorrow."
