Staff WriterZander Lombard produced the sort of late flourish that turns a tidy Friday at the Soudal Open into something with a pulse, draining a 31-footer on his final hole to join Tom Vaillant at the top of the leaderboard at Rinkven International Golf Club.
It was not exactly theatrical in the cape-and-sword sense. More a man doing his day job with frightening competence, then signing off by rolling in a putt from the sort of distance where most golfers are quietly negotiating with gravity.
Lombard, who had led by one after the opening round, carded a second-day effort built on control, patience and one final jab of brilliance. Vaillant, meanwhile, had earlier set the mark with a bogey-free 64 that looked about as stressful as a stroll through Antwerp with a fresh espresso and no appointments.
By the halfway stage, the pair were three shots clear. That is not quite a two-man breakaway yet, but it is certainly enough daylight to make the chasing pack squint.
Lombard Finds Late Spark After A Solid Day’s Work
Starting on the tenth, Lombard wasted little time in nudging the engine into gear. A birdie at the 11th was followed by two more at the 16th and 17th, taking him to the turn in 32 and reminding everyone that Thursday’s opening salvo was not a clerical error.
There was more forward motion on the front nine, with birdies at the first and fifth wrapped around a bogey at the third. Then came the final act: a 31-foot putt on his last hole of the day to move alongside Vaillant.
In tournament golf, those are the moments that linger. Not because they win anything on a Friday, but because they change the texture of a weekend. A missed putt leaves you chasing. A made one lets you walk off with your shoulders just a touch broader.
Lombard, to his credit, made the whole thing sound wonderfully unromantic afterwards.
It was just really solid. It was tricky today, being late in the field. The greens got a bit trampled, and it was really a hot day today, so it started getting a bit firm and a bit more bouncy. I think this weekend’s conditions are going to be really tricky.
That is the language of a professional golfer who knows that a leaderboard is only useful if you keep your hands steady and your thinking dull. Dull, in this sport, is often code for dangerous.
Vaillant Goes Clean Again
Tom Vaillant’s second round was cleaner than a new wedge face.
The 24-year-old Frenchman began the day two shots off the pace and took a measured route into contention. His first birdie came at the fifth before he picked up two more on the following holes, giving his round a proper shove.
After the turn, he added four further birdies to reach seven under for the day and match his lowest round of the season so far. More importantly, he did it without dropping a shot for the second day running.
Bogey-free golf is rarely as simple as it sounds. It requires discipline off the tee, calm into greens, and the ability to tidy up the awkward little messes that every round eventually presents. Vaillant did all of that, and by the time Lombard delivered his closing putt, the Frenchman had already made the clubhouse lead look like a serious number.
A Chasing Pack With Teeth
Lombard and Vaillant may have created a cushion, but the Soudal Open is hardly short of players ready to turn the weekend into a proper nuisance.
Three shots behind sits a group of five: Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, Spain’s Jorge Campillo, England’s Ben Schmidt, and South Africans Casey Jarvis and Richard Sterne.
That is not background decoration. Campillo brings experience, Sterne knows exactly how to handle himself on the DP World Tour, and Jarvis has the sort of talent that can make a three-shot gap disappear before lunch. Schmidt and Skov Olesen add further texture to a leaderboard that looks less like a procession and more like a queue of men waiting to steal someone’s wallet.
The conditions may yet have a say too. Lombard was clear that the course had begun to firm up, with greens becoming bouncy and less pristine as the day wore on. If that continues, the weekend at Rinkven International Golf Club could reward those who control flight, pace and patience — three things that tend to vanish quickly when a player starts staring too hard at the trophy.
Lombard’s Bigger Picture
There is also a personal edge to Lombard’s position.
The 31-year-old spoke openly about returning from injury and rediscovering the level that once had him inside the world’s top 100 and firmly in the DP World Tour mix. That makes his presence at the top of the Soudal Open leaderboard feel less like a hot streak and more like a reminder.
It’s as simple as more of the same, just keep ticking my boxes. I gave myself a lot of opportunities today, and I think I only missed two greens. So, there was a lot of putting out there and reading the greens, but I just want to have a lot of chances tomorrow, keep hitting the fairways and the greens. It sounds very simple and bland, but that’s good golf; it’s pretty boring.
That last line is the key. Good golf often is boring — at least to the man playing it. Fairway. Green. Chance. Repeat until somebody else blinks.
For the rest of us, of course, it is only boring if it is happening to someone with no story. Lombard has one.
Since my injury is almost two years ago, and a year and a half after the surgery, so it’s nice to just be back in the mix. Just before the surgery, I was 86 in the world, and top ten on the DP World Tour and playing great golf. It’s nice to see that I’m still capable of that, and I feel like I’m doing that again. I feel like I’m out to try and win now, and hopefully, it’s this weekend.
There is no need to embroider that. A player who has been through injury, surgery and the slow grind back to relevance does not need artificial drama. The leaderboard supplies enough.
Colsaerts Bows Out In Front Of His People
Elsewhere, Nicolas Colsaerts gave the day its emotional centre.
The Belgian, playing his final start, missed the cut by two shots but closed his 26-year career with a 69 that included an eagle followed by three consecutive birdies. It was a proper old-warrior sequence, the sort of run that briefly turns back the clock and gives the home crowd one last reason to clear the throat.
He finished at one under par, ending a career that stretched across 505 DP World Tour starts. On the 18th green, in front of friends and family, Colsaerts said farewell not with a trophy charge, but with gratitude. In many ways, that felt more fitting.
Golf is cruel enough to deny most players a fairytale ending. But it occasionally allows them a final roar, and Colsaerts found one.
Weekend Set For A Proper Fight
At halfway, the Soudal Open has exactly what a DP World Tour weekend needs: two leaders with contrasting routes to the summit, a chasing pack close enough to cause discomfort, and a course that may start asking sharper questions as the pressure rises.
Vaillant has been immaculate. Lombard has been resilient. Behind them, the rest are close enough to make sleep optional and Saturday important.
The 31-footer on Friday did not win Lombard the tournament. It did, however, make sure he starts the weekend exactly where he wants to be: at the top, in the mix, and boring in all the most dangerous ways.
