April 25-28
Samsun Golf Club, Samsun, Turkey
€200,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4

A stunning 11 under par round of 61 means Mark Flindt Haastrup has reached 16 under par at the halfway stage of the Turkish Airlines Challenge and will take a two-shot lead into the weekend at Samsun Golf Club.

Haastrup carded a blemish-free 61 after five birdies and an eagle on the front nine followed by a quartet of successive birdies on the back nine and leads by two over Adrian Meronk and Matthew Jordan, who both carded incredible ten under par rounds of 62.

It looked as though Meronk would be the man to catch as he led the way following the conclusion of the morning groups. Jordan then joined him on 14 under par when he birdied his 15th hole before a bogey-birdie finish meant he had to settle for a share of the lead with Haastrup still out on the course.

After four birdies in a row, the Dane moved to 11 under par with three to play, the possibility of a 59 was on the cards but he could only manage par on each of the last three holes, seeing birdie putts slide narrowly past on both the 16th and 17th, and subsequently signed for a sublime 61.

“I don’t know where that round of golf came from but everything clicked and I got some lucky breaks when I needed to and suddenly I was many under par,” Haastrup said.

“I started birdie-birdie and then hit a horrible shot on the third but hit a great bunker shot and saved par which made that momentum carry on.

“I holed a bunker shot on the next and then at least I knew that if I could keep pressing I could get to six, seven or eight under. Then, suddenly, I kept making birdies and it was a lot of fun.

“It’s very rare that you shoot 30 or under on nine holes so then to do it on two nine holes in row would’ve been unusual.

“When it crept up, I just shook it off and tried to hit the best score I could. If I had a putt for 59 on the last for the magic number then that would’ve been exciting but I missed one on 17.”

The 35-year-old admits to playing poorly in practice rounds at Samsun Golf Club but turned up the style on the second day, although, in typically understated fashion, believes his 11 under par round was not spectacular.

“I liked it when I got here but I didn’t play very well in the practice rounds,” he said. “I found something before the round on Thursday and it hasn’t been spectacular but it’s been solid with a good short game and I’ve putted really well.

“I’ve mostly just been at home so I thought there would have been a lot of rust but maybe it’s rust I need to play well! Maybe I need a long break between tournaments.”

Behind Jordan and Meronk on 14 under par is Robin Sciot-Siegrist who added a seven under par round of 65 to his opening 66 to reach 13 under, while five men sit a shot further back on 12 under par, including first round leader Francesco Laporta.

One shot further back in tied tenth are four players on 11 under par, including Scott Henry who carded the first hole-in-one of the 2019 Challenge Tour season earlier in the day as he aced the par three 13th with an eight iron from 179 yards.

The third round will begin at 7.30am local time, with the lead group of Haastrup and Meronk teeing off at 12.20pm local time.