August 20-23
The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
€1,000,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4

Scotland's Connor Syme defied "brutal" conditions to remain on course for a maiden European Tour title in the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

Syme overcame strong winds to add a second round of 70 to his opening 66 and finish six under par, two shots ahead of fellow Scot Liam Johnston, Jordan Smith, Sebastian Soderberg, Li Haotong, Nacho Elvira and Sihwan Kim.

The 25-year-old held a one-shot lead after 54 holes of the Celtic Classic at the same venue last week, but had to settle for a share of third place following a final round of 71 which was compiled either side of a two-hour lightning delay.

"That was brutal, to be honest," Syme said. "I thought yesterday was tough, but going through what we went through there, we got quite lucky yesterday.

"It was a real grind, some of the hardest conditions I've played in. Practising on the putting green it (the ball) was moving a lot so I wasn't sure if we were going to get started, but I'm delighted with 70.

"Although both my bogeys (on the third and 16th) were three putts, it was one of those days where you're just trying to find the green and missing it on the correct side was key, to be honest.

"Obviously it's a course I'm getting to like. I'm really just rolling with the same confidence from last week. It's weird going through the yardage book from last week and I'd draw a line under it and start with new pins.

"I was thinking it's a new week and just knuckle down and start again. I'm definitely taking confidence from last week but obviously I was fully focused on this week when I teed off."

Smith questioned whether play should have taken place in the bad weather, despite remaining in contention for a second European Tour title following a 72.

"I feel like I've been out there a week," Smith, who won the European Open in 2017, said.

"It was borderline out there with how quick those greens were and the wind. I don't think we should have been out there but you've got to deal with it and get on and that's what we did and managed to grind out a score.

"On the second (hole) me and Matt (Southgate) probably had 10-footers for eagle and we just wanted to get it down there as close as we can, we weren't even thinking about holing them.

"It was just one of those days but I'm happy to be in and happy with one over, really happy. I thought it was going to be a battle and it was. I managed to control the ball flight really well and if I did get into any bad spots managed to get out."

England's Sam Horsfield, who is seeking back-to-back wins at Celtic Manor and a third victory in the space of four weeks, is eight shots off the lead after adding a 71 to his opening 73.