Matti Schmid produced the lowest round of the week to sit alongside English duo Dale Whitnell and Sam Horsfield at the halfway stage of the Soudal Open.
Morning starter Schmid made eight birdies before dropping his only shot of the day at the ninth – his closing hole – in a superb 64 which moved him to eight under par at Rinkven International Golf Club.
It was a tale of two nines for Horsfield – who, like Whitnell began the day in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard – as the 25-year-old made three bogeys and a single birdie on the front side before coming home in 31 to sign for a 69.
Whitnell completed his round with a birdie at the ninth to join Schmid and Horsfield at the summit, as he also shot a second-round 69. England’s Richard Mansell and Portugal’s Ricardo Santos sat another shot back in a tie for fourth.
Lev Grinberg’s dream DP World Tour debut will continue into the weekend as the Ukrainian born amateur became the second youngest player at 14 years six months and six days to make the cut in a DP World Tour event, after adding a second-round 69 to the 70 he shot on his home course on Thursday.
Player Quotes
Matti Schmid: “I holed a few nice putts, gave myself looks and holed the putts. I was happy with everything to be honest. I hit the ball well, hit a lot of nice wedges which is what you have to do out here and was able to make some putts today.
“I feel in between a little bit. I feel like I wasn’t able to cap off a lot of good things on Sunday but I put myself in the right position and that is what I did again this week, and hopefully this time I play a good weekend and we’ll see what comes out then.”
Sam Horsfield: “I actually felt like I played pretty good on the front nine, I just felt like I had a few bad breaks and caught maybe the biggest flyer I have ever caught in my life on nine, and then yeah, kept playing solid golf.
“I made three in a row on the back nine and it was just nice to see some putts go in and have some opportunities.
“I’m looking forward to it. Every time you are in contention I think it’s always a good thing and I think I’ll just try to go out there tomorrow and do the same stuff I did out there on the back nine today and go from there.”
Dale Whitnell: “It was really solid to be honest. I made one bogey and it was a bit of an error on my part, tried to be a bit greedy out of the fairway trap on the par five, but it was great to finish with a birdie on nine because that was a tough hole today.
“It’s playing a lot tougher today than it was yesterday for us being out in the afternoon and firming up, the wind was up, so yeah it was tricky.
“I feel as if I know that when I get into contention I can do the job in hand, I just have to keep hold of my emotions and keep playing golf I guess.”
Lev Grinberg: “I played amazing! I can’t wait to play tomorrow and Sunday. It’s so nice to play good and make the cut and my home course, and hopefully grind out as many birdies as I can and hopefully get top ten, that is my goal this weekend.
“It’s amazing because you play with them (friends from home) and then you play with these guys who are top 50, top ten in Europe, and it’s just nice.
“The same way as I did yesterday and today, just play golf, it feels like it is just a round with my friends. It’s nice (on being second youngest player to make the cut at a DP World Tour event), I only found out about it now so hopefully I break some more records.”
