Norris, Weisberger share lead at VOLVO China Open

South African Shaun Norris (67) and Austrian Bernd Weisberger (66) moved to the top of the leaderboard during second-round play of the Volvo China Open on Friday as the DP World Tour veterans shared a one-stroke lead at the 31st edition of the national championship.

Through 36-holes at Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai, the pair were deadlocked at 12-under 130 at the $2.75 million tournament, a DP World Tour and China Tour co-sanctioned event.

China's Chai Bowen (65) and Zhou Yanhan (69) were equal third at one shot back. First-round leader Alejandro Del Ray could only muster an even-par 71 and was two shots off the pace.

Tony Chen Kuangyu, the Australian who got into the tournament through the Volvo China Open 36-hole qualifier, was three shots back after a 67, tied for equal sixth with Frenchman Tom Vaillant (65) and the Netherland's Darius Van Driel (65).

Defending champion Wu Ashun improved to a 67 and was six shots back, safely making the two-under cut line. In total, a record 12 Chinese mainland players advanced to the weekend play, setting a new record for the tournament since it received co-sanctioning by the European Tour. The previous record was 10 players advancing in 2019.

Weisberger, who woke up at 4:00 am for his early morning tee time, said his long game didn't play as well today as it did in the opening round when he shot 64, but he felt fortunate to shoot a low score. His round included seven birdies, including three straight to start, and two bogeys after starting from the 10th tee.

"It was nice to actually get a round that low because it didn't feel quite as good as it did yesterday. Sometimes you get over those days and get a good score out of it, and I did today," said Weisberger, an eight-time winner on the DP World Tour.

"Obviously, the ball goes a little bit further (in warmer conditions). The course has started to dry off a little bit after the rain we had during the pro-am and it's looking good. They set it up nicely for us, and I'm sure it will be a good test over the weekend."

Norris, who will be 44 next month, called his play "solid" as he carded five birdies and a bogey six at the 614-yard last in the hunt for his third DP World Tour title.

"I'm sort of hitting the ball in the right spot, missing it in the right spot. I'm giving myself a lot of good chances. I'm happy with where I am at the moment, especially after the long break, and looking forward to the rest of the weekend," said Norris who has won eight times in Japan and twice on the Asian Tour.

"(Course management) is a big thing around this course. There are a lot of places that you don't want to hit it, so you've got to manage your game pretty well around here, and so far, I've done well."

Chai, a 20-year-old from Shanghai, came into the tournament fresh off his first pro win last week at the Shaoxing Open on the China Tour. He continued his strong play at Enhance Anting, his home course, today with a round featuring six birdies, including three straight to start, and a lone bogey after starting his day on the back nine.

"I would score it 75 out of 100. Not perfect, but still a pretty decent round," said the second-year pro. "I'm pretty confident with my iron game, but I have to work on my putting later in the day. I think it's just a bit of a luck and some decent shots that brought me three birdies (to open the round)."

After everything went right for him the opening round, Del Ray shot 10 shots higher today in an even-par round that saw his two early birdies offset by consecutive bogeys starting on the 456-yard 14th hole.

"It was okay. I didn't play bad. I mean, it's a tough course and I just didn't manage to hit the shots into the greens and hit them close enough, so I couldn't make too many putts out there. I think it was mostly the irons, hitting into the greens," said Del Ray who won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship last year in the UAE for his lone DP World Tour title.

"It's going to be a tough weekend with the greens really, really cooked, and the releases are going to be tough. It's going to be tricky to get to the pins. They're big greens, but there are small areas where they're placed, so it should be fun."

Daniel Young (68) recorded a hole-in-one at the 230-yard second hole when his perfect shot with a four-iron found the cup. The Scotsman won a model of the Volvo EX90 as the actual prize vehicle is being offered on the 205-yard 16th hole. It was his eighth lifetime hole-in-one and second in competition. It was the first ace at the Volvo China Open in six years.

"We were walking up there (to the hole) and there were only two balls on the green and I thought 'Oh I kind of ran off the left or something'. But one of the guys said I'd gone in, so yeah, it was a nice bonus," said the Perth native who made the weekend play.

Later in the afternoon, American Jake Vincent would get the second hole-in-one of the day when he aced the 184-yard 12th hole using a six-iron.

Volvo China Open second round leading scores

Players are from the Chinese mainland unless indicated

130 – Shaun Norris (RSA) 63-67, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 64-66

131 – Bowen Chai 65-66, Zhou Yanhan 62-69

132 – Alejandro Del Rey (ESP) 61-71

133 – Darius Van Driel (NED) 68-65, Chen Kuangyu (AUS) 66-67, Tom Vaillant (FRA) 68-65

134 – Daniel Rodrigues (POR) 67-67, Kota Kaneko (JPN) 67-67, Jin Zihao 68-66, Anthony Quayle (AUS) 70-64

135 – Angel Ayora (ESP) 67-68, Gregorio De Leo (ITA) 68-67, Adrian Otaegui (UAE) 66-69, Andrew Johnston (ENG) 66-69, David Law (SCO) 68-67

136 – Wu Ashun 69-67, Vidal Quim (ESP) 67-69, Sam Bairstow (ENG) 70-66