BMW International Open 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Friday

Rafa Cabrera-Bello will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the BMW International Open, backing up his sensational 65 on Day 1 with a five-under par second round of 67.

The Spaniard finds himself on 12-under par overall at the halfway point, one shot clear of England’s James Morrison; he went round in a fine 66 on Day 2. Denmark’s Lasse Jensen and Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey are a further shot back on 10-under par.

Elsewhere, the poor form of home crowd favourite Martin Kaymer continued, as his overall score of one-under par wasn’t good enough to make the cut for the weekend.

Here’s a closer look at how the leaderboard is shaping up after two rounds at the Eichenried Golf Club, Munich, Germany.

Position	Player	Round 2 Score	Overall
1	Rafa Cabrera-Bello	67	-12
2	James Morrison	66	-11
T3	Michael Hoey	65	-10
T3	Lasse Jensen	69	-10
5	Thongchai Jaidee	67	-9
T6	Alejandro Canizares	66	-8
T6	Pablo Larrazabal	66	-8
T6	Chris Paisley	67	-8
T9	Bradley Dredge	68	-7
T9	Peter Hanson	68	-7

For the full leaderboard, check out the European Tour’s official website.

Cabrera-Bello Motors On

Paul Thomas/Getty Images

Everything seems to be going right for Cabrera-Bello this week. Granted, the 31-year-old has played superbly, with all facets of his game looking in fine working order. But there have been some times when fortune has favoured the likeable Spaniard.

It was no surprise when, starting from the 10th tee on Day 2, the leader picked up birdies at 12, 13 and 16 to race clear of the field. But as we can see here courtesy of the official European Tour Twitter account, even when he has played bad shots the Spaniard has usually dug his way out of trouble:

That’s testament to the confidence that’s so prominent in Cabrera-Bello’s game at the moment as much as luck, though. Another two birdies at the first and second put him on 13-under for the tournament, and the Spaniard seemed set to build up a massive lead with seven holes still remaining. But a bogey at the eighth blotted his card.

Afterward, Cabrera-Bello, who last won a European Tour event at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2012, was lamenting an opportunity missed to press on, per sportinglife.com:

"

I am pleased with the score but I do feel like it could have been a little better, especially after being 13 under with seven holes to play.

I did not play so good the last few holes, made a few sloppy swings, but nothing really to worry about and I just take it that I got my chances early in the round and made the mistakes at the end. That's the way it goes sometimes.

"

Paul Thomas/Getty Images

Perhaps the leader’s caution is justifiable looking at the players clinging on to his coattails. One of those is Morrison, who backed up an opening day 67 with an impressive 66. The Englishman will play alongside the leader on Day 3, and it’ll be an intriguing battle.

As we can see here, Morrison has been superbly consistent in Munich:

Glances were also cast down the leaderboard during the second round, especially at Kaymer’s effort to avoid the cut. The German’s recent form has left much to be desired, and his troubles continued in this competition, as myriad scoring opportunities were relinquished with some sloppy stroke play.

Paul Thomas/Getty Images

But after an erratic start, Kaymer recovered well around the turn to edge tantalisingly close to the cut line on two-under par. His spell between 11 and 14 was particularly impressive, as noted:

But a bogey at the last curtailed the German’s hopes of sticking around for the weekend. It means Henrik Stenson is the most high profile player remaining in the field and the Swede will fancy his chances of getting in the mix over the weekend after a solid 71 left him six shots back of Cabrera-Bello.

Paul Thomas/Getty Images

We were able to get a closer look at the world No. 7’s swing during the round:

It’s going to be engrossing to see if Cabrera-Bello can keep things together over the weekend. He’s an indisputably talented golfer, as is evident by his performances already, and his relaxed outward demeanour will settle him when the pressure does eventually bite. But he’s come up just short on a plethora of occasions already this year.

From the Spaniard’s point of view, hopefully his last-hole faux pas at the Irish Open—where a bogey cost Cabrera-Bello a playoff—will spur him on to great things on Saturday and Sunday. But with quality lurking in the upper reaches of the leaderboard, there’s a sense things are going to be made very difficult again for the leader.