American Jordan Gumberg continued his good form to lead the way at the halfway stage of the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge at Newmachar.
The 28-year-old from Florida picked up four shots over the closing stretch with a birdie at 15 followed by an eagle three at 16 and another birdie on the final hole on his way to a seven-under 64.
Gumberg, who is nine-under for the tournament, has a one-shot lead over Northern Irishman Jonathan Caldwell.
He said: “When golf goes like that it is a lot of fun.
“The course is firm and fair. It is a good test of golf.
“If you hit good golf shots you will get rewarded but if you don’t then you will end up in some tricky spots.
“The wind kicked up which made it a little bit more difficult.
“If you trust your shot, work your way round and try not to do anything crazy then you should be OK.”
Leader Jordan Gumberg after his second round 64 💬#ScottishChallenge pic.twitter.com/Rs8HmDUcc2
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) August 11, 2023
Gumberg finished tied second at last month’s Irish Challenge and could move up to 16th in the Challenge Tour order of merit with a victory in Aberdeenshire this weekend.
He added: “My game is feeling good.
“The putter is finally working.
“It took a while for that to click but my caddie and I found something and I’m starting to feel a lot of confidence with it.
“There is a lot of golf to go and although it is a cliché but we just have to take one shot at a time.”
Northern Irisman hopes to be hitting form at the right time
Caldwell is encouraged by his form, particularly ahead of teeing up in a home event on the DP World Tour.
The 39-year-old, a winner on the main tour at the 2021 Scandinavian Mixed, is playing in the ISPS World Invitational at Galgorm Castle.
Caldwell, who followed up an opening round of 66 with a 68, said: “My season started off pretty grim but thankfully in the last two months I have started to see an upturn.
“I have managed to find some form and the results are showing.
“Hopefully I can get another decent weekend here.
“I’m playing next week in Galgorm which is a big event with plenty of points up for grabs.
“I don’t want to peak too early but it would be great to have a nice weekend here and keep some good form for next week.”
Taylor Carter is sitting tied third alongside fellow Englishman Steven Brown, Scottish pair David Law and Sandy Scott as well as Italian Aron Zemmer.
Carter, a big Spurs fan, admitted he had to put the news of Harry Kane’s imminent move to Bayern Munich to the back of his mind as he followed up his opening 68 with a 67 to sit on seven under.
He said: “I woke up this morning and heard the news about Harry Kane and that set the tone for the day.
“I am a big Spurs fan so it is devastating as I don’t think you can replace someone like that.
“But I am excited with Ange Postecoglou coming in as manager from Celtic. I watched a lot of the games in pre-season and I know a few Celtic fans and they spoke highly of him.
“He wants to play attacking football which is what we have been missing.”
On his round, he added: “This is only my first event on the Challenge Tour this season.
“It is pleasing to back up the good first round with a bogey-free day today.
“The course suits me.”
Towards the end of the day, Welshman Oliver Farr recorded a walk-off hole in one on his final hole of the day at the ninth – his first ace as a professional.
He said: “It was a perfect shot – 178 yards, eight iron. It was the perfect way to finish a round.”
Nairn’s Sandy Scott storms up the leaderboard at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge
