Stephen Ames shot a 3-under par 70 on Friday to keep his place at the top of leaderboard after the second round of Trophy Hassan II in Rabat, Morocco.
Australias Mark Hensby (67), was three strokes behind Englands Paul Broadhurst 70.
Ames round was 9-under, following a 67 on the opening day. He bogeyed No. 2, and birdied four of the 10 remaining holes. He lost a stroke at No. 14 but regained the lead with a birdie at Number. 17.
Ames was encouraged by Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, despite his bogey at 14th hole par-3.
Keeping it — I guess I try to keep it away from the trouble, hitting it in the right places where I need it, taking the two-putts whenever I can, and then sometimes when it is correct, I hit a great teeshot, a second shot, or tee shots in there and I make birdsie, the 58 year-old Canadian stated after reviewing his first two rounds.
The par-3 was my only hiccup of the day. I was happy with my day, except for the par 3. It was a very tedious day that lasted five hours and 10 mins. This was more of a game for patience than anything else.
After holding at least a part of the lead after round 2, he has one victory on Champions Tour. He won the 2017 Mitsubishi Electric Classic.
He was in the lead after Rounds 1 & 2 at 2020 Morocco Champions in Marrakesh, but finished second.
Five shots back at 4-under, and in fourth place is Swedens Robert Karlsson (73) & defending champion Brett Quigley (73)
Jeff Sluman shot an impressive 73 and is currently in sixth place at 3-under. He is followed by Paul Stankowski (70), Colin Montgomerie (74) from Scotland and Paul Lawrie (75), who are tied for seventh at 1-under.
These are the only players below par on the par-73, 7,166-yard course which players claimed was difficult to navigate.
Hensby admitted that he wasn’t certain what credit he should give for his 67 on Friday. He also managed an eagle at the par-4 No. 17 with five birdies plus a bogey.
He said that he didnt know much, but that he had a good run at the end. I hit a great shot on 17 to make the putt. I think I made an excellent putt on 15. Its hard work. You have to hit it right every time. Its a grind.
Hensby, 51 years old, is looking for his first Champions Tour win in eleven starts.
