After the glorious sunshine of the opening day it was Sam Hutsby who fared best during a cold and wet second round at Zhailjau Golf Resort as the Englishman carded a course record equalling 63 to lead by five heading into the weekend at the Kazakhstan Open.
Recent Rolex Trophy winner Byeong-hun An is his closest challenger after a five under par score of his own, with the Korean in second place alongside former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson, who matched Hutsby’s impressive Friday tally en route to his lowest score to par as a professional.
Adrien Bernadet was at the top of affairs after 18 holes in the Central Asian country, but a level par round in the worst of the morning weather saw him drop to fourth spot at seven under par.
As for Hutsby, he is ideally placed to pick up a maiden European Challenge Tour title after ten birdies and a bogey, a feat that he puts down to some solid play from the tee, but more importantly, a resurgence on the greens.
“I’ve just got a new driver in the bag which I got fitted for last week, so I’ve been driving it really well,” said the 25 year old from Lee-on-Solent, who currently resides at 17th on the Rankings. “I played here in 2009 and it was a lot wider back then, so you have to make sure you’re on the fairways this week, which is what I’ve been doing. I’ve also got a new putter in the bag too, and it was just one of those days today where I felt really comfortable over it, which I haven’t had recently.
“It has been a pretty consistent year, with my only faults really coming on the greens. There have been weeks where I’ve hit the ball really well and I felt I could have been much higher than finishing say 20th, or even missing the cut. That has been the missing link really, as when my iron play has been good I’ve not been able to capitalise, but the good results have come from taking more of those chances.
“The course is in really good shape, and the rough is pretty tough, which is good as it penalises wayward shots, so it would be nice to play like this over the weekend and hopefully have another good week.
“I’ve always found it quite hard to follow up a low round, so anything in the 60s tomorrow would be a good target, as I’ll be going out with the lead. It was just one of those days today when I holed everything I looked at and it is always hard to have two days like that in a row. It is just amazing what eight or nine hours sleep can do to you.
“I’m looking forward to the weekend though as I’ve been playing well, and it is a big week, so it would be good to have a good finish and set myself up for the rest of the year and chase down one of those top 15 spots.”
Almost six years to the week since Wilson represented Europe at The Ryder Cup, it seems a fitting time for the Nottinghamshire man to re-find his best form as he stormed to the joint low round of the day thanks to eight birdies, an eagle and a solitary dropped shot.
He entered the week outside the top 100 on the Rankings, but is now in a position over the weekend to take advantage of the €450,000 prize fund and get himself moving in the right direction on the season-long list.
An eagle was the perfect start to the round, and he followed that with a further eight birdies, before a closing bogey at the 18th took a little of the shine off an otherwise exemplary day. Needless to say, Wilson was suitably pleased with his day’s work.
“I got off to a great start," said the 34 year old. "I had a bit of a mess about on the range beforehand and I managed to get a feeling that I could take onto the course, and you can never be sure how that is going to work.
“I hit a great drive off the first, probably my best of the week so far, and then holed a pure sand wedge that went straight at it, one bounce and in. When you hit two quality shots like that you’re like, hey, that’s alright. Then I hit it to a foot at the next, which really got me going, and moved me the right side of the cut mark.
"I have been struggling the last couple of years off the tee, so it was nice to finally get a feeling where I could hit a driver and trust it. It was hard to do that, but I drove it pretty good. The holes when I missed the fairways I hit some good shots to recover, and when I missed the greens I got up and down. Then when I gave myself a chance for birdie, I holed it.
“It was a shame to bogey the last as I wanted to give myself a chance at one more birdie and probably took too cautious a line down the left off the tee, so that was unfortunate. It was nice to get the adrenaline pumping again though, as it has been a while since I’ve felt that out on the course.”
Alongside Wilson is An, who continued to flourish during a season in which he has been one of the Tours most consistent campaigners, having registered five top ten finishes so far, including two runners-up spots and a maiden title last month in Geneva.
His 67 on Friday was proof of his fondness for the Zhailjau layout, and he could well be the man to watch over the final two rounds as he looks to pick up a victory that would see him move to the top of the Rankings from his current sixth place.
Bernadet also remains in contention, some six strokes adrift of the leading mark, but there are plenty of other top players that could also feature over the weekend just behind the Frenchman. One of those is former US Amateur Champion Matthew Fitzpatrick, who is very handily placed as he looks to take advantage of his fifth Challenge Tour invite of the season.
The Sheffield native’s 68 followed a solid opening 70 and has him alongside Julien Guerrier (66), George Murray (71), Joel Stalter (67) and 2010 Kazkahstan Open winner Alvaro Velasco (71) in a tie for fifth.
Rhys Davies is one further back at five under par after a 71 on Friday. The Welshman has Michael Lorenzo-Vera (70) and Pedro Oriol (71) for company heading into the weekend in a tie for tenth.