Ben Schmidt picked up three shots in his closing three holes to tie home favourite Wenyi Ding for the second round Hangzhou Open lead at West Lake International Golf and Country Club.
The Englishman was trailing Ding – who had earlier reached the clubhouse at 11 under par – by three shots with three holes to play.
However, the 22-year-old hauled himself into contention at the halfway stage in China with a birdie on 16, before an eagle three on 17 saw him sign for a five under par round of 66 to share second-day honours with Ding.
“I finished off the last three holes very strongly which was good,” he said. “Hole 16 was a tough par-three and it was nice to make a 25-foot birdie putt there. I hit a good drive down 17 and figured if I could just do that, I might have a chance.
“It's not often you get an eagle but the par five here will reward you if you hit good shots. I figured if I could hit a good drive down the fairway, it will get me a shot in. I had a tricky downhill eight-foot putt but I managed to hole it and I’m pretty pleased with myself for that.”
Schmidt, who finished fourth in the Hainan Open last week, is currently 46th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings at the business end of the season. He’s focused on another strong week in Hangzhou to guarantee his place in the field for the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A in two weeks’ time.
“There’s a lot on the line and lots to think about,” he added. “But I’m trying to take the focus away from that and play my own game. I’m tied for the lead and I couldn’t be happier right now.”
Schmidt is also looking forward to playing alongside Ding, winner of the 2024 Global Amateur Pathway, with a huge crowd expected to follow them on moving day.
“It’ll be nice to have a game in with Ding,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about him and I’m looking forward to playing together with him and it should be a good day.
“The pressure’s going to be a little bit more on him with the home support.”
Overnight leader Conor Purcell from Ireland sits one shot off the lead in a share of third place alongside Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan, with Spaniards Joel Moscatel and Angel Ayora, and Czech Gordan Brixi one shot further back in fifth.
Round three gets under way at 6:30am local time with Schmidt, Ding and Purcell teeing off at 10:30am.
