Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen was in a class of his own seizing an impressive six shot lead with a new course 62 on day two of the Turkish Airlines Open at Belek.
Olesen, 26 capped his round with an eagle along with eight birdies and just one bogey in a nine under par effort to move to 15-under par in continuing ideal scoring conditions on the Regnun Carya resort course.
Dane Thorbjorn seizes controls of the Turkish Airlines Open with a course record 62. (Photo – EuropeanTour.com)
Two players – Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee – share a distant second place on nine under par.
Otaegui, who turns 24 later this month, had set a new course record with an eight under par 63 but it lasted just over two hours before Olesen set a new low.
Olesen is chasing a fourth Tour victory and first in just over 12 months since capturing the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
The London-based Olesen has contested 24 Tour events this year with his best finish being a pair of second place results at the BMW International Open in Germany and earlier in the year at the Qatar Masters.
And his second day effort along the shores of the Mediterranean matched career low of 62 set some seven years ago.
“I found something in my game playing the Portugal Masters and while I didn’t score that well, I finished that week feeling like I was playing much better,” he said.
“So I was looking for something good to come and yesterday I produced a great putting display and today just played better and still putted great.”
Olesen also arrived in Turkey lying 38th on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai and 92nd in the World Rankings. His career Race to Dubai best finish was 15th in 2012 while climbed as high as 33rd in the world in May 2013.
Victory would send the Dane to just outside the top-10 on the Race to Dubai.
Otaegui continues to chase a first Tour succes and with the former Spanish Amateur champion having learned the game under the guidance of compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal and on the same course at Fuenterrabia in northern Spain as the double Masters winner.
Otaegui capped his round with five birdies in succession from his second hole on route to first setting the course record before being passed by Olesen.
“I’m very happy with today’s round as I felt very well from the beginning to the end,” said Otaegui.
“I started with five consecutive birdies and from thereon I just tried to not think on anything, just tried to keep the momentum and going.”
And it is a long-overdue welcome return to form for the now 23-year old Manassero who signed for a 68 to move into a share of fourth place on eight under par.
The Italian had become the youngest winner on the European Tour in capturing the 2010 Castellon Masters. He also became the first teenager to win three Tour titles while he won a fourth and his last victory at the 2013 BMW PGA Championship.
The effort had helped Manassero move to a career high on No. 25 in world but has since slumped to be teeing up this week ranked No. 356.
“The best lessons is that you teach yourself many more things than what everybody else can teach you,” said Manassero after being quizzed what lessons he had learned since last winning.
“When you go through low moments, and everybody is going to go through it but then I didn’t know that before 2014 and 2015.
“So that has been a great lesson for me, and also, the way — sometimes our choices, you can go through them by yourself and also with a lot of help from close people, but by yourself is I would say the main lesson.”
First round leader George Coetzee slumped to a share of 13th place at five under par after putting two balls into the water in taking a quadruple bogey ‘8’ at his 10th hole in an eventual round of a two over par 73.
It was much the same scenario with Masters Champion Danny Williett who dropped back to a tie for 56th place and failing to record a single birdie in a three over par 74.
