Scot Marc Warren has brilliantly boosted hopes of retaining his Tour card for next season by muscling his way to a share of second and into contention at the Portugal Masters.
Warren produced a flawless display of five birdies and then capped his round with a 17th hole eagle in a sizzling seven-under par 64 in ideal scoring conditions of the Victoria course at Vilamoura.
Warren, 36 heads to the weekend rounds sharing second place with Dane Lucas Bjerregaard (65) and with 29-year old Italian Nino Bertasio, and competing in the very last group, birding two of his closing three holes in second straight 65 and lead by one shot at 11-under par.
Marc Warren on his way to a share of second place on day two of the Portugal Masters.
Warren arrived on the Algarve lying a distant 173rd on the Race to Dubai and having made the cut in seven of 17 events this season.
But then 36-year old Glaswegian made a mockery of that as he clearly eyes a fourth Tour success and a first in over three years.
He said: “I really enjoyed it out there today as scoring conditions were perfect.
“I drove the ball really well and tried to stay patient with my approach shots because on some of the greens the flags are tucked away.
“So, overall I am pretty pleased with that effort.
Scott Jamieson with a pair of 68s is at six-under par while Drumoig’s Connor Syme ensured himself a first pay cheque in his very first event as a pro with scores of 68 and 69 to be a shot adrift of Jamieson.
He said: “It is a great start to my professional career and being here in Portugal this week has been an awesome experience.
“My game has been pretty tidy over these first two rounds and I’ve only dropped three shots over the two days while today was a good few pins I could attack.
“But to then finish holing that long putt for birdie was very pleasing and a great last putt to take into the weekend.
“I know it is never going to be easy in making the transition from amateur to pro but then I played in a few big events this year including The Open and also the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open so that has helped.
“I also managed to get a start in the Joburg Open earlier this year and those kind of experiences can only help and I have definitely drawn on those experiences the last two days.
“So, that has helped these two days and also helped settle my nerves as I did feel pretty calm out there.
“I always had a plan to turn pro in 2018 but it was a dark hole this year and depending on how my year went, so qualifying for The Open and things like definitely brought my turning pro plans forward to this week.”
