Gregory Bourdy opens up four-shot lead at Lyoness Open

Gregory Bourdy maintained his excellent form in Austria to double his lead at the halfway stage of the Lyoness Open.

Bourdy led by two overnight after a flawless opening 65, and he wasted little time in extending his advantage early on day two as he birdied two of his first three holes after starting at the 10th and then picked up three straight to close out a back-nine 31.

The Frenchman's charge stalled at the par-five first, where he dropped his first shot of the tournament, but he got the shot back at the sixth and parred in to return a 67 which earned him a commanding four-shot lead at the end of the round.

"It was a great day today – especially the way I started with five birdies on my front nine," Bourdy told the European Tour. "Unfortunately I bogeyed my 10th hole, but my front nine today was special, and five under was very good with some great shots and nice putts.

"I have been playing well all year so the confidence has been growing, it was just a case of putting it all together. It’s always nice to be leading a tournament and that is why we practice so hard."

Bourdy's closest challengers at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg are in-form Englishman Chris Wood and fellow Frenchman Gary Stal, who pipped Rory McIlroy to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship title in January.

Wood was level par for the day after 12 before making three birdies in four holes to card a 69, while Stal shot a second-consecutive 68 after a strong finish with birdies at 15, 16 and 18.

Eagle lifts Pigem

Spaniard Carlos Pigem matched Bourdy's opening-day 65, which included holing an eight-iron approach for an unlikely eagle at the 12th, to record the joint-lowest score of his European Tour career.

Pigem also carded six birdies as he vaulted to seven under alongside his established compatriot Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who kept a bogey off his card in a four-birdie 68.

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Matthew Fitzpatrick is a further stroke adrift after a 69 that featured birdies at 13 and 15 followed by an eagle at 69, while David Horsey and Ireland's Peter Lawrie are on five under heading into the weekend.

Home favourite Bernd Wiesberger needed to pick up five shots in his last four holes to make the cut, which fell at level par, and a birdie followed by an eagle at the 16th raised that unlikely prospect after Thursday's 79 - but he came up two strokes short.

Meanwhile, Russian golfer Andrey Pavlov had a nightmare start to his second round after carding a 17 at the par-five first hole having found the water six times.

The 28-year-old, who finished 26-over at this event 12 months ago and is playing his first European Tour event of the year on a tournament invitation, tied the joint-second worst number of strokes on a single hole in European Tour history.

Chris Gane made the same score at Gleneagles in 2003, with only Philippe Porquier's 20 at the 1978 French Open worse.

Pavlov eventually signed for an 18-over 90, having carded a one-under 71 in his opening round, which had given him a chance of making his first-ever cut in 15 attempts on both the European and Challenge Tours.