Omega European Masters 2017: Scott Hend Tops Friday Leaderboard at 13-Under Par

Scott Hend took the lead of golf's 2017 Omega European Masters at 13-under par after carding a second-round 63 at the Crans-sur-Sierre golf club in Switzerland.

The Australian finished with four birdies from his final five holes to take a firm grip at the top of the standings, with South Africa's Darren Fichardt in second place, one shot behind on 12-under.

The European Tour provides the current leaderboard here.

Recap

Hend began the day tied at the top of the leaderboard with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Tyrrell Hatton, but he started to show his form with an eagle at the seventh, and he finished at seven-under par for the day.

Fichardt, meanwhile, finished strongly with an eagle at the 15th, followed up by two birdies from his final three holes.

The Omega European Masters' Twitter account captured the moment when he confirmed his second spot:

It was a tougher day for Jimenez, who could only manage a disappointing 73. That left him three-under par after yesterday's round where he rolled back the years with some vintage play.

Elsewhere, the round of the day belonged to Lee Slattery, who put a poor first round of 75 behind him to card a 62, which propelled him up the leaderboard, as noted by the European Tour's official Twitter account:

Also impressing was Germany's Max Kieffer, who got off to a brilliant start by racking up the birdies, as noted by the European Tour:

Haydn Porteous, winner of the Czech Masters, had a more difficult afternoon, carding a 69 to finish the day at two-under par.

England's Matthew Fitzpatrick also enjoyed a good day, finishing at eight-under par. His birdie at the 10th was a notable highlight, as captured by the Omega European Masters' Twitter account:

However, it is Hend and Fichardt who are the men to catch going into the weekend, with Thongchai Jaidee, Fabrizio Zanotti and Todd Sinnott tied in third place, four shots off the lead, as the action starts to hot up.