Alvaro Quiros posted a 2-under par 70 to take a one-shot lead into Saturday’s third round of the Trophée Hassan II.
Starting from the back nine at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Quiros carded five bogeys offset by seven birdies, highlighted by a hat trick of gains on hole Nos. 17, 18, and 1.
Quiros, who has missed 16 cuts in his last 19 starts, says his mindset won’t change as the 36-hole leader.
“Clearly I’m recovering a little bit of natural feel in my swing and now every single day of golf I need to recover a bit of confidence,” said Quiros, who was ranked as high as No. 21 in 2011.
“A lot of times when I miss a shot, it’s not related straight to the swing movement, it’s more related to the fact that I’m not confident that things are going to come out as I want, it’s a completely different stage now.
“It’s not going to change from one day to another but at least I have a little bit more peace in my mind with respect to the technique.”
“It’s a very demanding shot to the green every single time. There are very small places to land the ball, it doesn’t matter if you have a long iron or a short iron it is always tight.I’m pleased with the score.”
After two days in Morocco, the 35-year old Spaniard is 7-under par, one clear of Australian Andrew Dodt, who recorded a co-low round of 68.
South African Erik van Rooyen was one further back at 5 under, a shot clear of Canada’s Austin Connelly and Welshman Bradley Dredge.
Frenchmen Benjamin Hebert (70) and Alexander Levy (69) sit T6 at 3 under, alongside England’s Paul Waring (69) and Swede Joakim Lagergren (73).
TOP 10 LEADERS
1 Alvaro Quiros -7
2 Andrew Dodt -6
3 Erik van Rooyen -5
4 Austin Connelly -4
4 Bradley Dredge -4
6 Benjamin Hebert -3
6 Alexander Levy -3
6 Paul Waring -3
6 Joakim Lagergren -3
10 Six Players Tied -2
VIDEO: SHOT OF THE DAY
Native son Yassine Touhami of Morocco with a walk off chip in.
Walking off with a chip-in birdie like…#TropheeHassanII pic.twitter.com/68LkHPPRq6
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 21, 2018
QUOTABLE
“Well, clearly the day was a completely different day in respect to yesterday, a little more windy. The early tee times are completely different, but in general, I guess the golf course is going to be playing more difficult than yesterday.”
– Alvaro Quiros
Credit: Getty Images, European Tour Media
