Omega European Masters: Day two digest

Thriston Lawrence powered ahead, Jeremy Paul was feeling good vibes on his event debut and Rafa Cabrera-Bello had Adam Scott's irons to thank on Friday at the Omega European Masters.

Here is everything you need to know from day two at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Lawrence leads in pursuit of Crans-Montana hat-trick

Thriston Lawrence is on track to emulate Seve Ballesteros and win the title for a third time. On another day of favourable scoring conditions, the South African carded seven birdies in a flawless 63 on Friday to reach 13 under and remain bogey-free through his opening 36 holes. Defending champion Lawrence, who first won the title in 2022, could join Ballesteros as just the second player to claim a hat-trick of wins in Crans-Montana since the tournament became a DP World Tour event in 1972, while he would become the sixth in its 103-year history. His nearest challengers at the halfway stage are Spain’s Nacho Elvira and Germany’s Jeremy Paul.

Report - Thriston Lawrence hits the front at halfway in pursuit of historic third Crans-Montana win

Paul feeling the good vibes with wife on the bag

Paul is this week making his debut in the Swiss Alps. The German, whose twin brother Yannik is a DP World Tour winner, usually plies his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour, but is embracing a rare start in Europe. With his wife, Morgan, as his caddie, spirits are high and a relaxed mindset is helping him out. “I've got my wife on the bag this week, so the vibes are high,” he reflected. “She's not really into the golf world too much, so it's quite refreshing, you know, because we're not too focused on the score and we were just enjoying it and she knows what's good, what's bad, but that's as far as it goes."

Elvira and Nakajima impress in low-scoring three-ball

A week on from finishing tied second at The Belfry, Elvira has brought the momentum from that performance to Switzerland. A winner earlier this season at the Dubai Invitational, he carded the low round of the week so far with a 62 to sit two shots adrift of Lawrence alongside Paul. His playing partners for the first two days also enjoyed fine showings as Keita Nakajima and Sergio Garcia both shot 63s to get to ten under and seven under repsectively through 36 holes. "Today was such a fun, brilliant day," reflected Japanese star Nakajima. "I'm honoured to play with Nacho and a Masters champion."

Cabrera-Bello has Adam Scott's irons to thank

A golfer's hopes at a tournament would ordinarily be impeded by their clubs being misplaced in transit, but seemingly not so for Rafa Cabrera-Bello. On arrival in Geneva earlier this week, the Spaniard had the misfortune of facing the realisation that his clubs were nowhere to be seen. So, faced with hurredly assembling a makeshift bag together, Cabrera-Bello turned to a set of irons best known for being designed for and used by Adam Scott in 2021. But after a run of five missed cuts in his last starts, he couldn't help but see the funny side of his return to form as a 65 on Friday left him four shots adrift of Lawrence.

At the double

So good was Elvira's short game on Friday, that he made not one but two chip-ins. Vamos, Nacho!