Marc Hammer and Niklas Lemke will share a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend of the Challenge de Cádiz.
German Hammer posted a five under par round of 67, while Swede Lemke carded a three under 69 as the duo moved to the top of the leaderboard on seven under at Iberostar Real Golf Novo Sancti Petri.
Hammer made a quick start to his second round with an eagle at the second, before two more gains at the sixth and seventh meant he made the turn at four under. He bogeyed the tenth, before bouncing back with birdies at the 11th and 14th to regain his position at the summit.
“It was pretty solid day,” he said. “I hit some good shots out there and I’m pleased with five under par. I just tried to avoid the trees off the tee and aim for the open side of the fairways and I hit a lot of stingers in the wind.
“I made an eagle on two which was great. I hit a big drive and then my three-wood in was perfect, which left me two-foot for eagle. It was a nice tap in to have.”
The 25-year-old made history in 2022 after becoming the first player to win two Official World Golf Ranking tournaments in the same week and in different countries, and he is now hoping for a strong performance over the weekend in Andalucía to climb the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
“I’m going to work on a couple of things now and take the same game plan into the weekend,” he said. “I’m looking for a confidence boost at some point and a good result this week would be great for my season. I would love to climb the Rankings and start to target a spot in the top 20.”
Nine players share third place on six under par, including South African Oliver Bekker, Frenchman Clément Berardo and Australian Connor Mckinney, who eagled the par four fourth hole for the second consecutive day.
