Andrew Johnston hit the front, new father Calum Hill put himself into title contention again, hopes of a home winner continue and there was an albatross on day two at the Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol.
Here is everything you need to know from Friday at Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith.
Halfway leader Johnston credits yoga
Andrew Johnston credited yoga as a catalyst behind his recent resurgence as he surged into the lead at the halfway stage.
The English fan favourite, affectionately known as Beef, is making his tenth DP World Tour start this season on a medical exemption, after being limited to just 17 appearances across the last three years.
Last year, it was revealed he had a complete ligament tear and a partial tear in two other tendons in his thumb after a series of earlier misdiagnoses.
This week marks his fifth consecutive start in as many events on the 2026 Race to Dubai, with a second-round 62 – his lowest score since the Scottish Open in 2019 – lifting him to 11 under through the opening two days.
Since a 73 on the opening day at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship in Spain, he has now shot under par in his subsequent nine rounds and was keen to pay tribute to feeling good both on and off the course as instrumental.
"With the injury I looked at stuff that I could personally sort of be better at and I started going back into the gym and I felt really compressed," said Johnston, who relocated to Australia in 2024.
"There's a nice little coffee shop in Perth next door and there's a yoga place next door and I was like, 'do you know what? I'm just going to wander in and have a look in, ask a few questions' and I found this yoga teacher and she has been brilliant."
New dad Hill in the mix again
Calum Hill and his wife, Miranda, welcomed their first child, Joshua, last month and the Scot is in contention to bring home silverware after a second consecutive 65.
Already a two-time runner-up this season, the 31-year-old found his groove quickly as he followed a birdie at the second with three on the bounce from the fourth, including a chip-in at the par three fifth.
When he then added another gain at the eighth, and backed it up by holing from 33 feet for eagle at the ninth, there was talk of him challenging to card just the second 59 in DP World Tour history.
But his momentum soon stalled, before errant tee shots at both the 16th and 17th, the latter the toughest hole for the second day running, resulted in dropped shots as he settled for a 65.
"It started really well," he said. "I feel like the score on this course is the front nine and then the back nine provides a much trickier test, especially the finishing stretch.
"The finishing stretch is strong. Last kind of four holes are really strong. The shots aren't as easy on the back nine to hit the fairway.
"You have to kind of go over some trees, work around a couple tree lines, so it makes it difficult to hit it in play, and then once you're out of position, that causes some difficulty because the rough is too thick.
"I played really nice, just lost a couple of shots coming in there and didn't give myself as close chances on the back nine. But still, five under is a good day."
Japan's newest global star?
After Ryo Hisatsune, Rikuya Hoshino, Keita Nakajima and Yuto Katsuragawa in recent seasons, could Kota Kaneko become Japan's newest winner on the DP World Tour?
Having topped the Japan Golf Tour order of merit last year, Kaneko is in title contention at ten under - alongside Hill and Rafa Cabrera Bello - after back-to-back 65s.
It comes after he made his Major Championship debut at the US PGA Championship and days after finishing tied second at the Soudal Open.
A birdie at the par-three finishing hole, provided the 23-year-old with the ideal way to head into the weekend...
Hope of a home winner
Sepp Straka is the headline act this week as the Ryder Cup star and four-time PGA TOUR winner makes his first start in Austria since 2018.
In front of big crowds, Straka put on a show as he carded a 66 that featured five birdies to leave himself four shots back of the lead in his quest to claim a first DP World Tour title.
"It was pretty good," he said. "I felt like I drove the ball incredibly well today. I hit the ball really well. I felt like I hit a lot of good wedges. I just couldn't get it close to the holes.
"The pins were pretty tucked today and there were a lot of putts in that range where it's quite tough to make them, especially late in the afternoon. So, yeah, I'm not really happy with my putter, but it bailed me out there towards the end."
Also at seven under is countryman Maximilian Steinlecher, who grew up in Tyrol and has admitted to being taken aback by the level of support he has received.
A winner in his homeland last year on the HotelPlanner Tour, the 26-year-old followed a first-round 65 with a 68 on Friday as he looks for a spark to ingite his rookie season on the DP World Tour.
Reflecting on the ovations he as received, he said: "I mean, it was so loud [on the first tee], so many people, but it was pretty cool, and then I hit a good tee shot as well. It was just really cool."
On being the joint best Austrian player after the opening two rounds, he added: "That's pretty cool. I mean, it's only halfway, but no, it's definitely a solid start."
A big bird for Vidal
Quim Vidal may have missed the cut after a second consecutive 71, but the Spaniard did manage a rare feat as he made an albatross at the par five tenth.
From 228 yards, he holed his second shot with a four iron. Well done, Quim!
