Angel Ayora produced a brilliant burst of scoring around the turn as he fired a flawless 65 on Friday to lead by one stroke at the halfway stage of the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old made a series of stunning par saves in the opening eight holes of his second round before picking up his first birdie of the day from close range at the 9th.
And he kept the momentum going, birdieing the 10th, 11th and 12th to make it four in a row and grab a share of the lead.
HotelPlanner Tour graduate Ayora gave himself a golden opportunity to hit the front on his own with a spectacular approach into the 16th but could not convert the birdie putt from inside four feet.
He made no mistake from similar range on the 18th, though, to reach nine under par, a total no one else could match.
The Spaniard sits one clear of first-round leader Dan Bradbury, Martin Couvra, Andreas Halvorsen and Marcel Schneider in a tie for second on eight under.
South Africa’s Jayden Schaper is on two under (T28) after a second successive 69.
Afternoon starter Schneider had a good chance to catch Ayora at the summit late in the day but could not convert his four-foot birdie putt at the last. His second straight 66 left him bogey-free at the midway point.
France’s Couvra, meanwhile, matched the course record of 63 set earlier in the day by Rafa Cabrera Bello thanks to eight birdies and one bogey.
Ayora started the day two shots off the lead and had more ground to make up by the time he began his second round in the afternoon.
He did well to save par from nine feet after a roller-coaster 1st hole before getting up and down for another valuable par from a tricky spot at the 5th.
Ayora’s battling qualities were there for all to see as he holed his 25-foot par putt on the 7th to keep his card clean before getting up and down from a bunker at the short 8th for another par.
He ended his wait for a birdie at the 9th courtesy of a delightful approach shot, and holed another long putt – this time for birdie – at the 10th.
A 14-foot birdie on the par-three 11th completed the hat-trick and he made it four in a row from 15 feet at the 12th.
Ayora continued to create chances to take the outright lead but could not make any count until the last, where he knocked in his four-foot birdie putt to get to nine under.
“I started today very badly,” he said. “From the tee I was struggling with my swing, but there were some very good recoveries and I was putting very good, so thank you to my short game.
“On the back nine I was trying to find a swing thought or something to recover from the front nine. I think I found it and I hope to do it tomorrow as well.
“I try to be patient. It’s difficult to do it on the course when things aren’t going very well, but you need to do it.
“If you start thinking about the past, the bad strokes, it’s not the way to do it. I try to do my best and to finish with a birdie is always a great thing.”
– Edited article from DP World Tour website
Photo: Luke Walker/Getty Images
