Wentworth, United Kingdom: Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer and England’s Oliver Fisher leapt to the top of the European PGA Championship leaderboard as the second round got under way at Wentworth on Friday.
Kieffer, ranked 288th in the world, had a golden start to his back nine making three birdies and an eagle in four holes from the 11th to join overnight leader Johan Carlsson, who was an afternoon starter, and get to six-under par after 15 holes.
Kieffer had briefly taken the outright lead at seven-under but a bogey on the par-4 15th saw him fall back level with Fisher and Carlsson.
Twenty-eight-year-old Fisher, aiming for his first European Tour win since 2011, was making the most of the perfect conditions.
He was four-under for the day and six-under in total after eagling the par-5 12th despite a nervy start when he dropped a shot at the first.
And there was progress for Lee Westwood, winless in this tournament after 23 attempts, as he went to five-under the card after going out in 32, three-under par, to be level with Belgium’s Thomas Pieters after 10 holes.
South Africa’s Branden Grace, who was subject of a drop controversy in the first round, was a shot back on four-under level with Henrik Stenson with the pair having nine holes of their second round left.
Grace was heavily criticised by TV commentators, including former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, and some fellow players for taking a free drop in a bunker on the 13th on Thursday. He claimed his stance would have been affected by a rubber mat in the sand and claimed the drop on his way to a 68.
Grace had conferred with rules officials but the incident occurred on the same day another South African, Ernie Els, called a two-shot penalty on himself.
Ian Poulter was failing to make sufficient ground after his first round 76 left him struggling to make the cut. He failed to make a birdie on his front nine and only got his round into red figures with a two at the 10th. Poulter admitted on social media he was so frustrated by his first round efforts that he had been awake since 4 am ahead of teeing off on Friday but only a flurry of birdies looked likely.
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