Frenchman Alexander Levy leads the European Open after shooting a nine-under 62 in a fog-delayed first round.
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Levy crammed 13 birdies in 26 holes to finish on 17-under-par with one hole still left to be played on Saturday morning, six ahead of European Ryder Cup player Martin Kaymer (17 holes), Britain’s Ross Fisher (15) and Robert Karlsson of Sweden (15).
England’s Steve Webster, Ben Evans, Matthew Southgate and Oliver Fisher, plus Scot Stephen Gallacher, were among 12 players on five under.
Kaymer bemoaned the delays and the two long days the players had experienced.
Karlsson needs to birdie the last three holes when play resumes on Saturday to break the magical 60 barrier, although an historic 59 would not count for record purposes due to the preferred lies in operation.
At 17 under par, the two-time European Tour victor was six shots clear of Ryder Cup star Martin Kaymer, who also had one hole remaining, as well as England’s Ross Fisher and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, who had three to play.
Levy, without a win since the 2014 Portugal Masters, continued to pull clear of the pack with further birdies at the first and second, and he carded his fourth two of the round at the short seventh before failing to take advantage of the par-five eighth in fading light.
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European team-mate, Belgian Thomas Pieters, was further down the field on three under after 16 holes of his second round. Levy holed a 15-footer at 16, hit the flag with his tee shot at the par-3 17th, tapping in for birdie, and added a go-ahead circle at the last after another brilliant approach to three feet.
