Lia Haotong cards eight birdies and an eagle during a nine-under 63 on day two of Dutch Open; Chinese player goes through front nine in just 29 shots; Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia leads Li by one shot - watch day three live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm, Saturday
Friday 27 May 2022 21:55, UK
England's Matt Wallace moved into contention at the halfway stage of the Dutch Open as he chases a first tour victory since 2018.
A five-under 67 on day two gave Wallace a halfway total of eight under par, leaving him two shots behind Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia, whose 66 late in the day saw him take a one-shot lead over China's Li Haotong.
Li had earlier climbed 70 places on the leaderboard thanks to a superb nine-under 63 which included an eagle and eight birdies and a front nine - the back nine of the course - of just 29 shots.
Wallace came into the week having missed the cut in eight of his last nine starts and without a win since making an impressive - if ultimately unsuccessful - case for a Ryder Cup wild card in 2018 with three victories in 15 events.
The 32-year-old, whose second round contained six birdies and a bogey, said: "I have had a really good mental attitude this week.
"It is all about executing the shot for me - the swing, seeing it and executing it. (It's about) positivity, not talking bad about myself or a shot; putting more energy into the good shots rather than the bad shots,
"If you hit a bad shot, you are allowed to let that frustration out but then don't give it any energy or any thought."
Li said: "Obviously I had a hot start, my putting was very hot. I holed a lot of long putts and the game has been slowly coming back.
"With this course, if you are off a little bit, it's so easy to have a bogey, so today I put every ball in safer places and created a lot of birdie chances from there.
"I need to be myself and stay calm, and hopefully I can shoot another couple of rounds like this."
Joost Luiten, seeking a third victory in his home tournament, was the overnight leader after a first-round 65 but shot 10 strokes more on Friday to drop off into a share of 19th place.
Watch day three of the Dutch Open live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm on Saturday.
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