Wade Ormsby has picked up where he left off following last week’s 5th place finish at the Scandinavian Invitation, the South Australian just one shot behind the lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters.
Ormsby added a second-round 64 to his opening 66 in Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club in the mountains of Switzerland and finds himself in a five-way share of second place behind only Malaysia’s Gavin Green.
Ormsby is playing the event for the 10th occasion and given his previous record over the Seve Ballesteros re-designed layout, on which he has missed five of his last six cuts, this significant improvement reflects a resurgence in his all-round game.
Ormsby improved to 77th in the Race to Dubai rankings last week and another good week here will continue his push towards the top 50 who earn the right to the riches of the DP World Tour event in Dubai later in the season.
Sharing second with Ormsby are last week’s PGA Tour Champion Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Andres Romero and Matthias Schwab.
Of the other Australians to make the cut, Lucas Herbert is best, the Victorian finding himself in 36th place after a second round of 67, while Deyen Lawson and Nick Cullen just scrapped into the weekend field and are tied for 58th.
The leader Green has yet to win on the European Tour but, in his second season in Europe, he is putting together a series of good finishes in recent months.
Green won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2017 and the long-hitting former University of New Mexico attendee is taking full advantage of the massive distances the thin mountain air offers at this venue.
Like everyone else, he is loving the beauty of Crans Montana and the Swiss mountains.
“The atmosphere and views are amazing. In Malaysia we don’t have anything like this,” said the 25 year old. “I’ve been here a couple of times now and the views never get old.
“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it’s a few thousand feet too. I’m pretty used to how altitude works. It’s just when it’s cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it’s been really fun.”
Rory McIlroy on his way to a round of 63 today – Getty Images
