Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen was proud to bounce back from the dissapointment of a frustrating finish to his first round as he comfortably made the cut on his debut at The Open.
The Dane earned his spot at Royal Birkdale with a breakthrough DP World Tour title at the Crown Australian Open last December.
That victory also earned him a Masters debut at Augusta National in April and he is this week completing the set of appearances at the four men's Major Championships.
On Thursday, the 27-year-old finished his opening round with back-to-back bogeys to card a two-over 72 that also featured an eagle at the par-five 14th.
But Neergaard-Petersen credited being "fully committed" to his game plan as instrumental in a second-round 66 that featured six birdies and two bogeys.
"It feels very good," he said. "I had a tough finish yesterday that made yesterday’s round not feel great but to go out and it really felt like I was in control of my game.
"I hit a lot of fairways and set up a lot of chances. A really good day.
"I stayed patient. I kept hitting it to my spots and then overall I did a better job of being fully committed to whatever club and line I was going with off the tee.
"It’s such a cool place that on pretty much every hole you can hit four, five or six different clubs and hit it to different spots. I felt like today I did a better job of sticking with what I felt was right and being committed to that."
Neergaard-Petersen is this season playing as a dual member on the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, with his best finish in his rookie campaign stateside a tie for 19th at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May.
After a quick rise in the paid ranks that saw him win three times on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024 to earn immediate promotion to the DP World Tour, expectations have since grown around the rising star.
But he is not fazed by them, with the World Number 91 approaching the weekend at the sun-baked Southport links venue with optimism.
"Honestly for me, at this point, I know my game is there," he said.
"I feel in great shape. It’s just more about making sure I am committed to what I am doing, making good decisions and staying patient.
"I have been looking forward to this week all year. It’s the last of the four majors that I hadn’t played so to get to play here with this kind of weather is brilliant."
