Kinhult holds on at Nordea Masters
Eighteen-year-old amateur Marcus Kinhult remains tied at the top of the Nordea Masters leaderboard after the second round.
Kinhult shone on Thursday with a five-under-par 67 on home soil and followed that up impressively with a 68 on Friday.
The Swede was joined by countryman Jens Dantorp, who matched him round for round, on nine under par later in the day.
They lie two strokes clear of Germany’s Maximillian Kieffer, who would have shared the lead but for two closing bogeys, and Sebastian Soderberg.
Another Swede, Alexander Noren, follows a shot further back on six under par alongside English duo Tom Lewis and Eddie Pepperell.
Kinhult opened with two birdies on the back nine and them immediately added another on the first.
His sole bogey of the day came at the par-3 15th, but he hit back superbly to birdie the 16th and 18th.
“I’m pretty happy with my score and where I am in the tournament,” said Kinhult, who recently won the Lytham Trophy, a prestigious amateur event. “Today was more of a solid round from tee to green and I made two big putts, but my putting wasn’t as good as it was yesterday. My game feels good at the moment.
“It’s pretty special to play a European Tour event – this is only my second time doing that. And to play at home in Sweden makes it even more special.
“There were some big crowds on the last few holes which was a lot of fun, and I think there will be a few more watching over the weekend.
“I’m just going to try to stick to my game plan and keep doing the things that have brought me here.
“That’s the key – to do everything as I always do.
“The Lytham Trophy win gave me a lot of confidence. I haven’t had that many wins before, so to get one there was a great feeling and a big boost to my confidence.”
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