Mikko Korhonen holds lead at KLM Open as James Morrison dares to dream of victory

Morrison carded a second round of 68 in the KLM Open at The International to lie two shots behind halfway leader Mikko Korhonen, who also added an eventful 68 to his opening 64 to reach 10 under par.

Korhonen enjoyed a one-shot lead over American Sean Crocker, with Morrison sharing third place on eight under par with compatriot Ross Fisher, who won the last of his five DP World Tour titles more than a decade ago.

Morrison is one of the straightest drivers on the European circuit and the 39-year-old was delighted to return to a venue which requires accuracy off the tee and where he finished fourth behind Sergio Garcia in 2019.

"You come in here, you know you can play well on this golf course and to do it is really satisfying," Morrison said after a round containing seven birdies and four bogeys.

"All I can do is hit it straight," Morrison added with a laugh. "When I see a course where you get a benefit for hitting it straight I always feel that suits my game.

"Most courses the last few years suit the bombers and as much as I would like to say I'm a bomber, I'm not. So it's nice to get to a course like this where driving is key for the week.

"I finished fourth here in 2019 so it's a course that's got good memories for me. I've been playing great, I think I've missed three cuts in the last year or so.

"So I'm playing really well, that big week has never been that far away so hopefully, maybe, you never know, pigs might fly… it could be this weekend. Who knows?"

Korhonen's rollercoaster round contained an eagle, two bogeys, a triple bogey and six birdies in what is just his third event on the DP World Tour since being sidelined following a panic attack during last year's Italian Open.

"I had a little adventure in the long stuff (on the 12th) and then holed a nine iron (on 14) so lots of things happened," the 43-year-old Finn said.

"I didn't really expect anything in just my third event coming out of a year's medical exemption, but I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to play well."

Overnight joint-leader Matteo Manassero could only add a 71 to his opening 64 to lie three shots off the lead on seven under, with Scotland's Ewen Ferguson also on the same score following a 66.

Welshman Jamie Donaldson, a Ryder Cup winner in 2014, missed the cut on his 500th DP World Tour start on three over par, the same total as defending champion Pablo Larrazabal.