Joost Luiten holds on to the clubhouse lead after a second round of 70, two under par, and sits one stroke ahead of fellow Dutchman Darius van Driel at the Austrian Open.
Luiten moved to nine under par with birdies on the first and fourth holes, before finding trouble on the seventh, having take an unplayable as he signed for a triple bogey. He cancelled that out later in his round with three consecutive birdies from the 12th to sign for two under par round and a nine under par total.
Winner of the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club in 2013, the 34-year-old is going in search of his seventh European Tour title and his first since the 2018 Oman Open.
“I had 17 good holes and just one bad one,” said Luiten. “I had a seven on the seventh, that didn’t help. I felt back and made some nice birdies on the back nine. Two under par with a seven is not bad, but there was more in there.
“You make a seven and have to accept it. You have to remind yourself that you’re playing well and there will be more chances to come. Luckily, I made three on the bounce on the back nine. It’s just about staying patient. It’s only day two and you need to keep yourself in there.”
Van Driel, who teed off in the first group on Friday morning, matched Luiten’s first round of 65 with a scorecard that included eight birdies to claim the early clubhouse lead.
The 31-year-old, who graduated from the European Challenge Tour last year, birdied three of his first four holes before dropping a shot on the par four fifth hole. Another birdie followed before the turn and he made four further gains on the back nine to move to eight under par.
“Today was a good day,” said van Driel. “We had perfect conditions and we were the first people on the greens.
“I can’t say I was hitting the driver well – that’s normally my strong point. Today my putting was very good. I holed some good putts and saved some good pars, which helps. A low score here is possible, but you still have to do it. To come out of a four-month break, it’s good to get back on the horse.”
Another early starter, Swede Oscar Lengden is one stroke back on seven under par while Frenchman Felix Mory, Germany’s Marcel Schneider and Jonathan Thomson of England are in the clubhouse on six under par.
