Jordan Gumberg will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend of the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO after reaching 14 under par at Mission Hills Haikou.
Related: Jordan Gumberg takes early lead in Hainan Classic
The American, who was atop the leaderboard after day one, picked up where he left off on Friday, carding seven birdies and just one bogey for a six under par second round of 66.
The 30-year-old made the most of calmer morning conditions, picking up four shots on the Vintage Course’s opening nine holes before collecting another three on his way home.
It secured him prime position at the midway point, as he eyes his second DP World Tour title.
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Jorge Campillo backed up a seven under par opening round with a 67 on Friday to sit two shots off the pace and in outright second.
The Spaniard, teeing off on the 10th of the Blackstone Course, went out in 36 strokes before firing five back nine birdies to take his tally to 12 under par for the tournament.
South African pair Thriston Lawrence and Dylan Frittelli shared third place on 10 under par, one shot ahead of South Korea’s Taehoon OK.
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China’s Wenyi Ding, Yanhan Zhou, Bo Jin and Bowen Xiao finished in a group of seven at eight under par, alongside Scotland’s Euan Walker, Portugal’s Daniel Rodrigues and England’s Andy Sullivan.
The first two rounds of the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO were played across two courses – Blackstone and Vintage – at Mission Hills Haikou, with groups alternating each day. This year’s format also saw a pro-am competition run concurrently, with Zi Wang and Quianzhou Wang victorious at 32 under par.
The third and fourth round will be played on the Blackstone Course.
Player quotes
Jordan Gumberg: The Vintage Course is a little bit different to the Blackstone. I didn’t really remember a lot of the holes from Monday’s practice round, so I relied on my caddie to really know the lines and where to go, but it kind of started coming back to me through the middle of the round. The greens are a little bit different on that course; they’re a little bit more grainy, they’re a little smaller, a little more undulation too, so I’m really happy with today.
I just picked up shots here and there as it goes. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything crazy, I don’t feel like anything like I’m stuffing pins to two-feet on every hole, I just kind of kept plugging away – pick up a shot here, pick up a shot there kind of thing. My putter is still rolling, which is nice. I left a few out there today for sure on the greens, I had a few five-footers that didn’t go in, but that’s golf, they’re not all going to go in.
Just keep it going and stay within yourself – all the clichés really. They’re cliché but they are useful. Just kind of keep doing what you’re doing, focus on yourself. We’re playing good golf – take that confidence into the weekend, knowing that you’re playing good golf, and just kind of back yourself.
