Turkish Airlines Open: Matthias Schwab continues run toward first title

Austria’s Matthias Schwab is now the solo leader of the Turkish Airlines Open at the halfway point, having been in a tie at the top at the end of day one.

Matthias Schwab was alongside Tom Lewis at the head of the field after Thursday’s action, but a second round of 67, including four birdies in his last eight holes, pushed him a shot clear of the pack after two rounds at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Antalya, as he sits at -12.

The 24-year-old Austrian is still looking for his first victory on the European Tour, and if he were to do so this week, he would move inside the top five on the Race to Dubai list, and into the top 100 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings.

He is currently a shot clear of four men, including the English duo of Ross Fisher and Danny Willett. The BMW PGA Champion followed his opening round of 67 with a Friday 66, while Fisher had one of the best rounds of the day, with nine birdies and a bogey in his second round of 64.

Thomas Detry and Alex Noren are also in the group at -11, with the Swede starting fast, thanks to this wonderful approach at the par-3 2nd hole.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre shot the round of the day, with a nine-under par 63, which had nine birdies and nine pars around the Montgomerie Maxx.

The Graduate of the Year contender is now just two off the lead, in a tie for 6th place, alongside the reigning two-time champion Justin Rose, who is looking for the three-peat in Turkey.

David Lipsky is the leading American, and he is also in that group at -10, alongside South Africa’s Justin Harding and Australia’s Jason Scrivener.

The man who was tied at the top with Schwab, Tom Lewis, could only manage a two-under-par round of 70 on Friday, and he now sits just outside the top ten, three shots behind the Austrian.

The English pair of Lee Westwood and Tyrrell Hatton, and the American duo of Patrick Reed and Kurt Kitayama are all within five shots of the lead. As is Shane Lowry, who recovered from a 72 on day one to shoot 65 on Friday to move up into a tie for 25th alongside Erik van Rooyen among others.

Padraig Harrington, Matt Wallace and Francesco Molinari are all only just inside the top 50, while the likes of Martin Kaymer, Eddie Pepperell and the current Race to Dubai leader, Bernd Wiesberger, are all outside that mark.

Taner Yamac, the Turkish amateur, shot his second consecutive round of level-par to sit in a tie for 65th, with the likes of Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Lucas Bjerregard below him. Just eight men are over par for the week so far.

Back to the top though, and Matthias Schwab will once again lead the way going into the third round. He will tee off alongside the English duo of Ross Fisher and Danny Willett at 12:00 local (GMT+3) on Saturday, and will be looking to push on towards a maiden European Tour victory.

Can the experienced pair catch him on moving day? Can Justin Rose make his move towards just the fourth back-to-back-to-back title in European Tour history? Or could it be one of those golfers looking to make the top 60 on the Race to Dubai ahead of the Nedbank that make a telling move on Saturday?

Pay starts at 10:00, with Nicolas Colsaerts, Nino Bertasio and Kalle Samooja getting this underway for the third day in Turkey.

Leaderboard:

1 (-12): Matthias Schwab (AUT)

T2 (-11): Alex Noren (SWE), Thomas Detry (BEL), Ross Fisher (ENG), Danny Willett (ENG)

T6 (-10): David Lipsky (USA), Justin Rose (ENG), Justin Harding (RSA), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Robert MacIntyre (SCO)

Selected Others:

T11 (-9): Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Tom Lewis (ENG)

T15 (-8): Lee Westwood (ENG), Patrick Reed (USA), Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)

T25 (-7): Erik van Rooyen (RSA), Kurt Kitayama (USA), Shane Lowry (IRL)

T45 (-3): Padraig Harrington (IRL), Matt Wallace (ENG), Francesco Molinari (ITA)

T52 (-2): Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Gavin Green (MAS), Martin Kaymer (GER), Adri Arnaus (ESP)

T62 (-1): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)

T65 (E): Taner Yamac (A, TUR)

T70 (+2): Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Lucas Bjerregard (DEN)