Posse of Scots lurking ominously at top of Schloss Roxburghe leaderboard

It will take better than his customary 67, 68 or 69, though, to get the job done in this week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A and Euan Walker knew that before heading out in the second circuit at Schloss Roxburghe near Kelso.

After an opening 68, the 29-year-old Ayrshireman started the day seven shots off the lead, held by Englishman Will Enefer following his course-record effort on Thursday, and Walker reckons the winning total in the £250,000 event could be around the 20-under-par mark.

After adding a 65 to his first-day 64, Spaniard Vidal Quim reached the halfway stage sitting on 13 under but also with a posse of Scots breathing down his neck. Having carded a 63, his best score of the season, Walker is on 11 under along with Daniel Young while David Law and Marc Warren are both a further two shots back.

“I knew that the scoring was going to be really low and the winner is going to be close to 15 under and maybe even closer to 20 under,” said Walker, a two-time tour winner after signing for an eagle, seven birdies and one bogey in his eye-catching second-day salvo.

“I didn’t go out thinking about getting to that number, more so that the cut could go to three or four under, so I thought I needed to be under par today. I was able to get to three under early on and that helped settle me a bit, especially when I was able to par the seventh, which isn’t an easy task.”

The hole that is causing problems

Measuring 520 yards, it has played as a par 5 in the past but has been changed to a par 4 for this event. “It’s not really a par 4,” observed Walker. “If it was 40 yards forward, it would be a par 4. But it is not really a par 5 either. It would need to be another 30 yards back for it to be a par 5.

“It’s that horrible in between position and I’m one of the shorter drivers of the golf ball, so it causes me even more problems than anyone else.”

On a day when he had clearly more problems in general than 24 hours earlier, Enefer slipped back after having to settle for a 74, with Joshua Berry, who is leading the Road to Mallorca points battle, now just ahead of his compatriot on eight under.

“The wind did pick up a little bit today and it did affect the ball quite a bit,” observed Walker. “It probably prevents a lot of players from scoring really, really low but you still have an opportunity to have a round like I did today.”

The Scot has narrowly missed out on securing a step up to the DP World Tour three years in a row, finishing 24th in 2022 then 26th and 25th in 2023 and 2024 respectively in the season-long standings.

On the back of his consistency, he came into this event sitting 25th in this season’s card battle and a strong showing on home soil would certainly be a boost heading into the remainder of the campaign.

“It would be great,” he replied to being asked about getting himself in the mix on Sunday afternoon. “Historically, I have never played that great in the Scottish Challenge, so I have already exceeded expectations (smiling).”

In-form Young, who is bidding to land a maiden win, added a 67 to his opening 64 while recent Czech Challenge winner Law and four-time DP World Tour champion Warren signed for 67 and 68 respectively.

Will Porter, a fomer Scottish Boys’ champion, also sits in the top ten while other Scots to make the cut included Borderer Craig Howie and Blairgowrie amateur Connor Graham.