Home boys flourish at the Open de Espana

Rafa Cabrera Bello and Adri Arnaus share the halfway lead in the Mutuactivos Open de Espana as home players occupied the top four places at Club de Campo in Madrid.

Cabrera Bello, who has yet to drop a shot this week, added a second round of 65 to his opening 66 to finish 11 under par alongside Arnaus, who looked set to hold the outright lead until a bogey on the last in his 66.

World No 1,413 Samuel Del Val is just a shot off the lead after a superb 65, with world No 5 and defending champion Jon Rahm a stroke further back on nine under following a 67, making it an all-spanish top four.

Cabrera Bello, whose last European Tour title came in the 2017 Scottish Open, said: “You don’t get to go bogey-free very often and to do it two days in a row, I don’t know how many times I’ve done that.

“I’m obviously very pleased with the way I’m playing.”

Del Val, who carded seven birdies and a solitary bogey in his 65, is contesting his 22nd tournament in the space of 28 weeks as he tries to secure his playing rights somewhere for next season.

The leading Scot is Ryan Lumsden who is tied for 37th, nine shots off the lead, after back-to-back rounds of 70. One shot further back are David Drysdale and Calum Hill who both had rounds of 71 yesterday. The only other Scot to make the cut is Grant Forrest who is level par for the tournament after a 69.

Australia’s Whitney Hillier carded a second round of 71 to claim a slender lead at the halfway stage of the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

Hillier birdied the last two holes at DLF Golf and Country Club to finish six under par and a shot ahead of Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord, with England’s Meghan Maclaren and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg a shot further back.

Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew is five shots off the lead after a 73, while shot of the day belonged to her fellow Scot Kelsey Macdonald, who made a hole-in-one on the 16th in her 72 to finish four over par.

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