After shooting a 6-under 65 on Friday in the second round, Rasmus Hojgaard increased his lead in the Open de French (Cazoo) to six strokes. The sole mistake was a bogey on the par-4 fifth hole, which was the only blemish for the overnight leader from Denmark at Le Golf National west of Paris.
Paul Barjon of France rose to second place with a 3-under 68 to jump from third. The audience lingered with Barjon as he made an eagle putt from 61 feet on hole 14. This pleased them. Hojgaard had a two-stroke overnight lead over Alexander Bjork of Sweden, but Barjon was unable to keep up with him.
On day two at Le Golf National, morning starter Hojgaard recorded seven birdies and one bogey for a score of 15 under par. The trailing group attempted to cut the gap in the afternoon, but no one was able to join the Danish player at double digits under par; Paul Barjon of France was the closest competitor at nine under.
Hojgaard expressed satisfaction with his performance at the Ryder Cup venue in 2018 and pledged not to make many changes throughout the weekend as he pursued a fourth DP World Tour championship. George Coetzee, who birdied three of his final five holes to finish with a five-under 66, is now solely in second place behind Barjon after the latter made a 60-foot eagle at the par-five 14th.
On seven under, Antoine Rozner and Alexander Bjork are tied for fourth. In total, Bjork had three bogeys during her bad day. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the competition was postponed for the past two years. Five-time DP World Tour champion George Coetzee of South Africa shot a 66 to move up to the third place, one stroke behind Barjon at 8 under.
