Lombard shares Austria lead

Atzenbrugg - South Africa's Zander Lombard shared the halfway lead of the Austrian Open with France's Gregory Bourdy on Friday despite back-to-back bogeys on the back nine.

Lombard, who began the day three shots off the overnight lead held by Spanish rookie Adrian Otaegui, is at seven under par with Bourdy whose score of 69 saw him set the clubhouse target earlier in the day.

Lombard fired four birdies in his opening six holes to climb to the top of the leaderboard and parred each of the final five holes to finish his round in 70.

"It was so brutal with the wind out there today. Club selection was absolutely crucial and with the pins positions today, they were tough with the wind direction," said the South African.

"I was really hitting great shots on the front nine with just a few misjudgments with the winds on the back nine which cost me a few shots."

France's Gary Stal sits one shot behind the leaders on six under after carding five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on his way to a 71.

Spain's Borja Virto is a further shot back on five under, while Otaegui is in a group on four under.

Defending champion Chris Wood posted a second successive 71 to move to two under.

Leading second round scores in the Austrian Open at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria on Friday (GBR/IRL unless stated, par 72):

137 - Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 68 69, Zander Lombard (RSA) 67 70

138 - Gary Stal (FRA) 67 71

139 - Borja Virto (ESP) 70 69

140 - Joost Luiten (NED) 69 71, Richard McEvoy 71 69, Adrian Otaegui (ESP) 64 76

141 - Marco Crespi (ITA) 70 71, Ashun Wu (CHN) 69 72, Scott Jamieson 69 72

142 - Chris Wood 71 71, David Bransdon (AUS) 69 73, Matt Ford 72 70, James Morrison 70 72

143 - Ricardo Gouveia (POR) 69 74, Ben Evans 72 71, Mikael Lundberg (SWE) 72 71, Bjorn Akesson (SWE) 66 77, Chiragh Kumar (IND) 71 72, Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) 69 74, Gregory Havret (FRA) 71 72, Michael Hoey 72 71

144 - Marcus Kinhult (SWE) 70 74, Steve Webster 71 73, Lukas Nemecz (AUT) 69 75, Scott Henry 70 74, Nick Cullen (AUS) 71 73, Chris Paisley 71 73, Oliver Fisher 73 71, Johan Carlsson (SWE) 74 70, Marc Warren 73 71, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 70 74, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 73 71