Bryson DeChambeau fired a second round 68 to stay at the top of the leaderboard and take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Porsche European Open.
The American had set the pace on Thursday with a 66 and moved into double figures on Friday at Green Eagle Golf Courses to lead the way from Englishman Richard McEvoy and Austria’s Matthias Schwab.
- Charl Schwartzel is five back heading into the weekend
Masters champion Patrick Reed was then at eight under after setting the target in the morning, alongside Scotsman David Drysdale and France’s Romain Wattel.
DeChambeau announced himself to the European Tour in 2016 when, still as an amateur, he fired an opening 64 in his first ever regular event in Abu Dhabi against a field including Major Championship winners Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth.
This week in Hamburg is just his second professional appearance on European soil in a regular event but he has looked very much at home as he goes in search of a first European Tour title.
McEvoy and Schwab are also seeking their maiden wins on the European Tour, although for McEvoy, it would be a second victorious week in a row after his triumph at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge on the Challenge Tour.
Frenchman Alexander Levy and Wales’ Bradley Dredge were three shots off top spot on a congested leaderboard.
DeChambeau made a birdie-bogey start but a left-to-righter on the 9th moved him back into red numbers and he did well to save par after finding water off the tee on the next.
He did drop a shot on the 11th but he holed a 15-footer on the 12th and made a putt from the fringe on the 13th to join Reed and Schwab at the top of the leaderboard.
He laid up on the par-five 15th to set up another gain and while Schwab joined him in top spot, a closing birdie after finding the final green in two moved him ahead alone once more.
