Alexander Björk sent a timely reminder of his Ryder Cup ambitions as he held a one-shot lead at the halfway mark of the D+D Real Czech Masters.
The Swede is a rank outsider of the 20 players who mathematically have a chance of claiming the final place on offer via the European points list.
Björk’s playing partner Robert MacIntyre currently occupies the third spot, with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm having already sealed the top two positions, but it was the final member of his group who he needed to impress.
Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald was playing alongside the pair and Björk must have entered his calculations after a weather-delayed second round of 66 to nudge one shot ahead of fellow hopeful Nicolai Højgaard at 13 under par.
“It feels good. I had a solid day today as well. Swing felt really good all day,” the Swede said. “Started really good then we got a little break; you never know what’s going to happen after that but I was able to continue the good feeling I had from the start. It was a solid round.
“I had a few putts just before the turn that didn’t drop. But I managed to stay patient and a few rolled in. It’s always nice to be bogey-free. That shows that the long game has been really good.
“I just focus on my own game and doing what I’ve been doing so far. Just try to stay patient and focus on the things that I’ve decided to focus on. That’s all in my mind for the weekend.
“[The Ryder Cup] is not a goal, but obviously everyone wants to make it. I just want to play as good as I can and then we’ll see if that’s enough.”
Højgaard set the early pace at 12 under par in the morning following a flawless second round of 67 and the Dane managed to get in the clubhouse before a delay of 71 minutes hit Albatross Golf Resort in the afternoon.
Björk, who carded a bogey-free 65 in the first round, had climbed to eight under through four holes thanks to an opening birdie before the hooter sounded.
But the delay did not interrupt his momentum as he continued to showcase all facets of his ability in front of the Ryder Cup Captain, who names his picks on Monday, 4 September.
The 33-year-old rolled in his second gain from 14 feet at the 8th, but it was at the 9th where he produced one of the shots of the day to get to 10 under.
After choosing to lay up on the par-five hole, Björk found the rough with his approach which saw the ball spin back into its pitch mark.
However, he managed to dig out the ball from the thick scrub before slowly rolling into the cup for a remarkable birdie.
Björk added another gain from 20 feet at the 10th before hitting his approach to five feet at the next and when he tapped in his fourth straight birdie, he was the joint leader with Højgaard at 12 under par.
The Swede parred the next four holes before he had a chance to take the lead at the 16th when he put his tee-shot to 15 feet, and he duly obliged to become the first player at 13 under.
Björk could have increased his lead to two at the last when he paced his birdie chance perfectly, but it missed right of the hole by a matter of inches as he remained blemish-free after 36 holes.
Højgaard began his second round with a birdie at the 10th before adding another at the 13th as he reached the turn at nine under par.
He reached double figures when he dialled into four feet at the 1st hole before rolling in another gain at the 5th from six feet.
The Dane wrapped up his scoring with a brilliant bunker shot to two feet to tap in his fifth birdie of the day at the 6th to set the pace for the rest of the field in Prague, which was only bettered by Björk.
Four-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace surged into contention after he rattled home an eagle and seven birdies in his flawless 63 to sit at 11 under par alongside first-round leader Sami Välimäki, who mixed three gains with one dropped shot.
Like Välimäki on Thursday, the 63 scorecard will not make it into the record books due to preferred lies being taken in the second round.
Ryder Cup contender Ludvig Aberg, who only left the amateur ranks in June, leads the group at 10 under alongside Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, Todd Clements and Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo.
Team Europe Vice Captain Edoardo Molinari is one shot further adrift with Dutchman Wil Besseling and German pair Alexander Knappe and Maximilian Schmitt.
Hennie du Plessis and JC Ritchie are the best-placed South Africans on six under (T25) after rounds of 67 and 69 respectively, with Jayden Schaper, Tristen Strydom and Justin Walters on five under (T36).
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
