Staff WriterJhared Hack tightened his grip on the Italian Challenge Open with the sort of round that makes a leaderboard look like it has been personally reorganised by a man with very little interest in drama.
The American carded a bogey-free six under par 66 at Golf Nazionale to reach 16 under for the week, maintaining a four-shot lead after two rounds of the HotelPlanner Tour event.
For a player making only his third start on the circuit, Hack has so far carried himself with the calm of someone browsing a wine list rather than trying to secure his future on the Road to Mallorca.
Five Birdies, No Blemishes, No Panic
Starting on the back nine, Hack opened quietly enough before finding his stride at the par three 12th. Then came the burst.
A birdie at the 16th lit the fuse, beginning a run of five consecutive gains either side of the turn. The highlight arrived at the par five 18th, where Hack launched a fairway wood to ten feet and left himself a routine birdie after the eagle putt refused to drop.
“I hung in there today,” Hack said. “I’m proud of myself for staying patient, sticking to my goals, and keeping it pretty stress free.”
“I hit a great shot into 17 that was playing 213 yards today, hit a good five iron to four feet, and hit a really nice shot into 18 too.”
“It’s always great when you can make five birdies in a row.”
That is one way of putting it. Another is that five birdies in a row tend to make a golf course feel considerably more agreeable, particularly when nobody has yet managed to lay a glove on you.
Hack Starts To Dream Bigger
Hack arrived at the Italian Challenge Open knowing a top-ten finish would be enough to earn him a place in next week’s Challenge de Catalunya. Two rounds later, the calculation has changed rather sharply.
Now, the winner’s exemption is very much in sight.
More impressive than the scoring, though, has been the cleanliness of it. Through 36 holes, Hack has yet to drop a shot. On a course where patience and positioning matter, that is not simply tidy golf. It is disciplined, grown-up golf.
“It’s good to be bogey-free through 36 holes,” he added “My goal for this week was to stay below the hole, stay patient, and kind of plot my way around.
“I told my friends back home that this was a good course for my game so I’m just going to continue to do what I’ve been doing.
“Keep giving myself chances, don’t take birdie away off the tee, and go have fun. This is why we practice, to be in a spot like this.”
Chris Wood Leads The Chase
Chris Wood did his best to make the afternoon awkward. The Englishman posted a superb eight under par 64 in the morning wave to set the clubhouse lead at 12 under, briefly applying a little heat to Hack’s shoulders.
Wood, a former BMW PGA Championship winner, is back on the HotelPlanner Tour and clearly not here merely to admire the scenery. His 64 was the round of a man still capable of making a course look smaller when the rhythm returns.
He will join Hack in the final group on Saturday, alongside England’s Barclay Brown, but Wood knows better than most that one hot Friday does not rebuild an entire career overnight.
“It was nice to give myself a lot of chances today, but I’ve got a long road ahead of me to get back to where I want to be playing, and how I want to be playing,” he said.
Leaderboard Tightens Behind The Leader
Brown sits in a tie for third at 11 under alongside Scotland’s Will Porter, leaving both men five shots off the lead but close enough to make Saturday interesting.
American Nick Carlson and England’s Alfie Plant share fifth on ten under, while Italian Alessandro Nodari, England’s Will Enefer, Frenchman Pierre Pineau, Portugal’s Tomas Gouveia and Denmark’s Hamish Brown are all at nine under.
That group is seven shots behind Hack, which sounds like a lot until the wind changes, the putter cools, and one loose swing turns into two. Golf, as ever, remains a beautifully dressed ambush.
Saturday Sets Up A Proper Test
The third round of the Italian Challenge Open begins at 08:00 am local time on Saturday, with Hack, Wood and Brown heading out together at 12:15 pm.
For Hack, the task is simple in theory and brutal in practice: keep plotting, keep avoiding bogeys, and keep the chasing pack at arm’s length.
For Wood and Brown, Saturday is about pressure. Not the noisy kind, but the slow, persistent sort that builds when pars stop feeling useful and birdies become compulsory.
Hack has earned the right to be chased. Now comes the harder bit: staying comfortable while everyone else tries to make him uncomfortable.
