Marcus Kinhult was just happy to be in the field for the Open de France and after missing five cuts in his last eight events on the European Tour, no one expected him to be leading the pack after 36 holes at the more-than-difficult Le Golf National.
But the 21-year-old Swede dazzled everyone by taming the beast Friday with a six-under par 65 that got him to six-under par, good for a two-shot lead over Chris Wood, the 6-foot-5 Englishman.
But most of the eyes were on Jon Rahm during the second round and his 69 got him within three of the lead at the halfway mark.
I do enjoy this type of golf and the reason why is because everybody has got to hit good shots,” Rahm said after his day was finished. “It’s golf, you’re going to make bogeys, I think it’s virtually impossible to go bogey-free here. If you can go nine holes without making a bogey, you’re playing really good golf.
“In my mind it’s more how golf is supposed to be played. I feel like the most talented men of the weeks are the ones playing in difficult conditions. The win is really deserved. The course was probably three shots easier than yesterday,” he said. “They put a couple of tees forward which was a lot less wind, I played early in the morning when the greens were perfect.
“So shot one shot better but actually played a lot worse and I was able to scramble a couple of holes. Probably about as low a round as I could have done today.”
Justin Thomas, the other top-five player in the field, stayed in touch with the leader. He shot 70 for the second straight day and is tied for fifth at two-under par.
In all, only 15 players are under par at the halfway mark.
