Marco Penge will take a two-shot lead into the weekend after playing a marathon 32 holes on day two of the weather-affected Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
The home favourite carded a 69 in the morning to get into the contention and then surged ahead in round two, moving to eight under through 14 holes and 11 under in total.
New Zealand's Daniel Hillier, the 2023 champion, was his nearest challenger, two ahead of South African Shaun Norris and England's Matthew Jordan, who also both still had holes to play.
Spain's Nacho Elvira was also at seven under but yet to start his second round.
Storms resulted in two hours and 11 minutes being lost in the afternoon, taking the total for the week to nine hours and 21 minutes but there was a healthy contingent of hardy fans surrounding a Brabazon Course that was still in excellent condition.
The delays, however, meant that no players had completed their second round, with half the field yet to start theirs.
Penge was a three-time winner last season while also finishing sixth at this event, as he pushed Rory McIlroy all the way in the Race to Dubai and earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR.
But on Wednesday, he described his 2026 season thus far as a "nightmare", after suffering with problems with his ear, neck and nervous system which have led him to play a limited schedule and miss the U.S. Open.
He showed no signs of any discomfort, however, on a day where he played 32 holes carding an eagle, ten birdies and a single bogey.
In the morning, Penge recorded a bogey-free 69 thanks to smart approach to the second, a lengthy putt on the ninth and taking advantage of the par-five 17th but it was in round two where he truly came to life.
He started by driving the par-four tenth to 11 feet and holing for a spectacular eagle and after doing incredibly well to save par on the 13th following an out of bounds drive, he picked the shot back up with a tee-shot to eight feet on the next.
Thumbs up from Enzo Penge as Marco leads by two on Friday evening 👍#HusqvarnaBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/JXoBQAX3rM
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 28, 2026
An approach to nine feet on the 16th and second birdie of the day on the next had him level with Elvira and he then moved away after the turn.
The 28-year-old put an approach to ten feet at the first, holed from just short of 30 feet at the second and made the most of the par-five third to get to double figures.
A chip-in at the fifth then kept him two ahead of a charging Hillier.
The 28-year-old, playing in the group behind, had also recorded a 69 in the morning with an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys.
He birdied the 12th, 15th and 16th and then added three gains in four holes from the second and will face an 18-foot putt to make it a hat-trick of gains on the sixth.
When the hooter sounded on Thursday, Elvira had just completed a hat-trick of his own on the 12th but he lost no momentum, adding another on the 13th upon his resumption with an approach to seven feet.
He then took advantage of the par-five 15th and 17th to post a 65 and the clubhouse target.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the 39-year-old, who had missed his last three cuts at this venue and never before broken par in ten rounds.
"I would say this course my kryptonite," he said. "I have always struggled on this course. I struggled off the tee.
"This round was unbelievable. I think I was in the fairway in play on every single shot today, and that was the key in order to hit the pin in a good position and be able to give myself some chances."
Jordan was one under for his round with four holes to complete, while Norris was two under with six to play.
American Davis Bryant was yet to start his second round at six under, with Scot Ewen Ferguson on the same mark having completed ten holes of round two.
Englsnd's Joe Dean, Dutchman Joost Luiten and India's Shubhankar Sharma were at five under.
American Ryggs Johnston made his second hole-in-one of the season, holing a five iron from 215 yards on the 12th.
Play will resume at 7.30am, with those yet to start their second rounds teeing off between 8.45am and 10.45am. Round three will not start before 4.00pm.
