Lars Van der Vight fired a second round seven under 62 to reach 12 under par and take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Interwetten Open at Schladming-Dachstein Golf Club.
The Dutchman made eight birdies on Friday, five of which came in his opening seven holes, to back up his first round 64 and move past playing partner and round one leader Christian Braeunig.
Van der Vight, who currently sits 95th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, picked up a further three shots after the turn, more than offsetting his bogey at the ninth, to take pole position at the halfway mark.
“It was good,” he said. “Obviously it was raining all day, but it wasn’t a lot of rain it was just persistent. I guess I feel right at home in the rain.
“Tee to green I’ve been really good. I’ve hit a lot of fairways and hit a lot of greens the past couple of days.
“I had no idea I had seven threes on the front nine, that doesn’t happen often.”
Van der Vight is in his first full season on the HotelPlanner Tour, having qualified as winner of the Order of Merit on the Pro Golf Tour, one of the pathways to the Road to Mallorca.
The 23-year-old, who also featured in the field at last week’s KLM Open on the DP World Tour, is embracing all the challenges that come with making the official step up.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” he added. “I’ve been to a lot of far away places like South Africa and India. It’s more travel but it’s fun to see some cool places.
“The course this week is pretty straightforward so it’s not too hard to adapt this week. There are some courses you want to play twice in the practice round but here once was enough.”
Van der Vight won twice on the Pro Golf Tour on his way to topping the Tour’s rankings, a feat that he can take confidence from this week, as he sets his sights on a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title.
“I feel like I can win on any level. If you can close out and win a tournament it’s always good experience to have.”
One shot back of Van der Vight is Frenchman Julien Quesne, who matched the Duchman’s second round 62 to reach 11 under par.
Behind them is a group at nine under par, made up of English trio Ryan Brooks, David Horsey and Bradley Bawden, Peruvian Julian Perico, and German duo Philipp Katich and Maximilian Kieffer.
Round three of the Interwetten Open gets under way at 8.05am local time with Van der Vight playing alongside Quesne and Ryan Brooks at 12.00.
