Saturday 23 May 2015 12:11, UK
Francesco Molinari will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the BMW PGA Championship as Byeong Hun An stormed into contention with a superb 64 on the second day at Wentworth.
While the headlines were dominated by defending champion Rory McIlroy crashing out after a miserable 78 left him three shots outside the cut, Molinari was safely in the clubhouse at the top of the leaderboard having added a 69 to his opening 65.
The Italian's lead was rarely threatened throughout the day until An, playing in the fourth-last group out, rolled in his eighth birdie putt of the round at the 17th before his long-range birdie putt at the last shaved the edge of the hole.
Molinari's overnight two-shot lead vanished within the first three holes after he bogeyed the first and third, but he produced a valiant fightback with birdies at four and six, and he broke a run of seven-straight pars with another birdie at 14.
He emulated his opening-day birdies at the final two holes to set the clubhouse target on 10 under, but his advantage over the field was soon whittled down to two shots when Emiliano Grillo played the final eight holes in six under.
Two eagles for Grillo
The Argentine holed a bunker shot for eagle at the 12th and he bounced back from a bogey at 13 with birdies at the 15th and 17th before playing the shot of the day at 18, knocking a superb second from 255 yards to within inches of the cup for a tap-in eagle that capped a 65.
Grillo was later joined on eight under by Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee, who kept a bogey off his card while making three birdies on each half in a faultless 66, a score matched by James Morrison as last week's Open de Espana champion enjoyed a run of six birdies in eight holes to get to seven under.
But it was An who emerged as Molinari's closest challenger late in the day, the South Korean surging to the turn in 30 after five birdies in six holes from the second before he picked up further shots at 10, 12 and 17 to post the best round of the tournament.
Jaidee's playing partner and fellow veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez is just four off the pace after a solid 70, while Robert Karlsson is also at six under after a mixed-bag of a 71 which included an eagle, four birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey at the third.
Live coverage of the third round at Wentworth starts Saturday at 12pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
