Thriston Lawrence produced a stellar second round of 63 to move two strokes clear on Friday at the Omega European Masters.
The defending champion, who began the day one shot off the pace, delivered a flawless display at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, carding seven birdies to reach 13 under par after 36 holes.
Related: Ashun Wu leads the way in Crans Montana
Lawrence, having opened his round on the tenth tee, required some early patience, forced to wait until the par three 13th for his first birdie of the day.
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He then found his groove with the next, the gain at the 16th sparking a run of six consecutive birdies around the turn to move the 29-year-old ahead of his challengers and reaffirm his dominance in the mountains.
A par save on the fifth, where he holed his fourth shot out of the bunker after a failed attempt with the putter, kept the momentum going, the five-time DP World Tour winner finishing with a string of pars to post a clean card.
Lawrence now heads into the weekend in the box seat of a third title, having prevailed by two strokes last year to add to his 2022 success and become a two-time champion in Crans-Montana.
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Nacho Elvira matched his best round in more than three years, carding a 62 to sit two shots back and in a tie for second alongside Germany’s Jeremy Paul.
The Spaniard picked up five shots across his opening nine holes, steadying the ship after an early bogey at the second, before adding a further four birdies on his way home.
His efforts earned him the lowest round of the week so far and marked his best display since the Made in HimmerLand in July 2023.
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For Paul, a front nine of two birdies and as many bogeys meant he went out in 35 before a flicked switch saw him mix four birdies with an eagle to finish six shots better on the back.
The 32-year-old’s round of 64 moved him to 11 under par, in what is his first Omega European Masters and ninth career start on golf’s Global Tour.
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Keita Nakajima went bogey-free to sign for a 63 and take outright fourth, while Rafa Cabrera Bello, who has used clubs previously belonging to Adam Scott this week as a result of his set not arriving in Crans-Montana, sits in a share of fifth with China’s Ashun Wu and England’s Paul Casey.
Player quotes:
Thriston Lawrence: It was lovely. I started a little slow. A big save on hole number 11, and then just the perfect seven iron on 13, and got the round going there.
I mean, I hit a nice mini driver there to a good yardage – I probably had 80 metres, and I thought I hit a decent lob wedge and just flew the green complete, like 10 yards long, and on a downslope, just had nowhere to go. I told my caddie, it’s almost better leaving it in the bunker for the chip, you know, and I was, at that time, thinking five’s a good score. I saw the lip’s not too big, and I might get a chance of a putter here. I hit a nice putt out the bunker there, and it just bounced straight back. I got a nice lie, a short little shot, and obviously played it to perfection and holed it out. It was similar to yesterday on 14 when I made that long par putt, it’s just so nice to keep the momentum going and just stay bogey free for the tournament.
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To be honest, I’ve played nicely all year, just got so unfortunate, so many times, missing the cut by one shot, four, five times, so I feel like I’ve been playing nicely, but mentally, I feel like I’m in a better space, you know, obviously seeing birdies and seeing putts go in. I feel like you’re gaining confidence by doing that, and coming back to a place that I love is just extra confidence.
