Gunner Wiebe started the day with a share of the lead and fired three birdies and a bogey at the par-3 17th to close with a 69 and the solo lead at 9-under at the Italian Open.
“I don’t think any of us had the chance to play boring,” said the American. “The conditions were really tough. The course is starting to firm up quite a bit. You just have to pay attention. There’s not really a shot where you can – I don’t want to say mail it in – but you have to be on your mental side from the get-go with how tricky the wind was.
“Arguably, I might have played better today than yesterday. You can judge by score, sure, but I think the way I played today was a bit sharper.
“I think the heat makes the ball go a lot farther. Throughout the day we were almost half a club less than we would normally be with the ball sailing, and if you catch it downwind you might hit it 15 or 20 yards farther with a mid-iron. It’s kind of like playing at elevation.
“We’re going to have to survive the heat, because it’s definitely warm. Coming off of where we’ve been where it seems like it has rained and been cold all year, it’s a nice reprieve. But it’s hot, it’s definitely hot.
“I think if you get off in the morning, some of the guys that have an earlier time tomorrow, with the wind down, there might some chances to get out and score. If the weather maintains and the wind stays up, I think you’ll see a pretty condensed leaderboard and probably a lot of guys who will have a chance.
“Whether it’s me or somebody else, someone is going to have to play very good the last two rounds to hold the trophy.”
Germany’s Jannik De Bruyn made five birdies and a bogey at the par-4 4th to close with a second 67 and solo second place at 8-under.
Overnight co-leader Sebastian Friedrichsen of Denmark shot a 71 to fall back into a share of third place at 7-under alongside Spain’s Adrian Otaegui (69), Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult (70) and South Africa’s Brandon Stone (67).
Italy’s Andrea Pavan who also shared the first-round lead shot two birdies and two double bogeys at the par-4 9th and the par-3 17th for a 73 and lies in T9 at 5-under.
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