Stenson storms to the top, García bags second hole-in-one prize. Flawless second round for Swedish star – Ritthammer top German

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Sweden’s #henrikstenson showed once again on day two of the #bmwinternationalopen (23rd to 26th June at GC Gut Lärchenhof) why he is one of the biggest stars of the international #golf scene. A bogey-free round of 65 (-7) saw him draw level with overnight leader Raphaël Jacquelin of France. Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat also produced a dazzling round of #golf to climb 13 places. These three are tied at the top of the leaderboard on -11 at the halfway point of the tournament.

Stenson, who won the #bmwinternationalopen back in 2006, will go into the weekend brimming with confidence following the joint second-lowest round of the day. Only Aphibarnrat und Benjamin Hebert (FRA, -3) outdid the world number seven on Friday, with an eight-under round of 64. Stenson is well-placed to push for a #bmwinternationalopen double, and was understandably in a positive mood. “I was never really in trouble today,” said the 40-year-old. I hit most of the fairways, and most of the greens. I could have been closer on a couple of them, but greed is a terrible thing.”

Behind the three leaders, a host of big names have played themselves into contention ahead of the weekend. Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen (-10) rocketed into third place with his second successive round of 67, followed by Zander Lombard (RSA) one shot back on -9.

Sergio García (-5) gave German fans something special to cheer on the eleventh hole: the popular Spaniard hit a hole-in-one from 157 yards to win an exclusive hotel voucher from corporate partner Hilton. This was the second ace of the tournament: Scot Richie Ramsay (-2) had previously won the #bmw M760Li xDrive on the 16th.

Bernd Ritthammer (-4) leads the ten-strong German contingent at the iconic European Tour #event. The 29-year-old carded four birdies and one bogey on Friday – a result that seemed to surprise even him a little: “My long game was not as good as yesterday, but my putting was much better. It is actually quite funny that I came away with a -3 today and only -1 yesterday. I feel right at home here. I compliment #bmw on the great organisation. I may not have played a Major yet, but I cannot imagine it getting much better than this.”

Ritthammer is joined in the field for the remaining two days of the tournament by amateur Jeremy Paul (-2) and the experienced Alex Cejka (-1). In sharp contrast, the #bmwinternationalopen has come to a premature end for a number of well-known players, including Masters champion Danny Willett (ENG, Par), #bmw Golfsport Ambassador Max Kieffer (GER, Par), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (ESP, Par), Wu Ashun (CHN, +1), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL, +1), and local favourite Marcel Siem (+11).