Antwerp: Manu Gandas, playing in his rookie season on the DP World Tour, ended a streak of missed cuts with a solid 3-under 68 that included four birdies and an eagle as he ensured action over the weekend at the Soudal Open in Belgium.
He chipped in from off the green and almost 45 feet away for an eagle on Par-5 17th.
Gandas, who after three straight cuts has missed the last four, is now 3-under for two rounds and lying T-40.
His compatriot, Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time winner on the Tour, opened with a triple bogey on the 10th and had only one birdie to show for the remaining 17 holes. He missed the cut by one shot.
First-round leader Simon Forsström from Sweden is still the man to catch as he carded five birdies in a four-under-par round of 67. The Swede is 11-under par after two rounds and one stroke ahead of French rookie Jeong Weon Ko (66-66) at 10-under.
Local hero Thomas Detry goes into the weekend just two strokes back as he bids to become the first Belgian winner of the Soudal Open in nearly 70 years. Detry (67-66) is third at 9-under.
Gandas, who earned a DPWT (DP World Tour) card by topping the PGTI Order of Merit, under the new strategic alliance between the Indian and European Tours, started with five pars before he picked three birdies in four holes on the sixth, eighth and ninth holes.
Making the turn in three-under, he gave away two shots on the 10th and 12th but birdied the 14th. A chip-in for an eagle on the Par-5 17th boosted his chances and, despite a closing bogey, he made the cut.
Sharma, after a horrible start, just could not get his putts to fall and made an early departure.
Detry, 30, seeking a maiden DP World Tour victory on home soil, carded seven birdies as he followed his first-round effort of 67 with a five under par 66 to sign for a nine under par total at Rinkven International Golf Club. The last Belgian player to claim their national open was Flory van Donck in 1956, when he won the title for a tournament record fifth time.
Ko is playing in his first season on the DP World Tour after finishing inside the top-20 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca last year.
In a share of fourth place on eight under par are Frenchman Julien B
