Fabrizio Zanotti carded a three-under-par 68 to secure a one-stroke lead after the second round of the French Open on Friday.
Fabrizio Zanotti: Flying high at the French Open
Zanotti, who is on six under par for the championship, started his round well with a birdie at the par-four first hole. He carded addition birdies at the third and ninth to complete a flawless front nine.
The South American then went on the par the tenth and eleventh holes before making a blunder at the 12th. He took full advantage of the par-five 14 and made no more mistakes for the remainder of the round.
"I'm very happy," said Zanotti. "I struggled a little from the tee but I putted very well during the day and pretty happy with the round. It was pretty tough out there, and the course is playing very hard, so very happy," added the South American.
"I think it's a very good score, so I will try to keep playing like this and just have fun. I haven't played very well during the year, but I'm working very hard and I think this is because of all the work; I am always positive."
"It's pretty tough to keep working when you are not playing good, but that is the way all the guys play good, so you have to keep working to get where you want," he added.
"On a course like this, I think that you have to accept everything. It's playing very tough and the greens are getting hard, so it's going to be very hard. Like I said, keep patient and have fun - there is no other way."
One shot behind him was Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, who carded a two-under-par 69 for the second round. Joining Bjorn on five under par is South Africa's Richard Sterne, who also carded a 69 for the round.
Sterne, who started his round on the back nine, sunk birdies at holes ten and 14. His bogey at the 17th was followed by two additional bogeys on the front nine. However, he made amends for it with three consecutive birdies between holes six and eight.
Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell rediscovered some form on Friday, when he carded a two-under-par 69 for the round. The Irishman is two shots behind the leader on four under par for the championship.
Eduardo de la Riva carded a four-under-par 67 for the second round, to move up to three under par for the championship. The Spaniard did all his scoring on the front nine, where he sunk five birdies.
However, he did make a mistake at the par-four seventh.
De la Riva produced a flawless back nine, which kept him on contention ahead of what should be another exciting weekend on the European Tour. Among the notable players not to make the cut were Marcel Siem and Edoardo Molinari.
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