Staff WriterIf you blinked, you might have missed the masterclass. Ewen Ferguson, the often-underappreciated Scotsman with nerves of steel and a short game sharp enough to slice haggis, carved up Rinkven International Golf Club on Friday like he’d designed the place himself.
With a clinical bogey-free 64, Ferguson tied the course record and planted his Saltire firmly atop the leaderboard at the halfway mark of the Soudal Open.
Now sitting pretty at 11 under par, Ferguson holds a commanding three-shot cushion over England’s Marco Penge, who sits in solo second on eight under.
It’s the kind of lead that makes his caddie start thinking about what kind of champagne chills best in Belgium.
“I just love this sort of golf,” Ferguson might’ve said, had he paused long enough to realise he hasn’t dropped a single shot in 36 holes. In truth, he’s too focused for fluff.
The 28-year-old has been here before—and he’s made it count. Of the three previous times Ferguson has held a 36-hole lead on the DP World Tour, he’s converted two of them into wins, most recently at the 2024 BMW International Open. This isn’t uncharted territory; it’s familiar hunting ground.
Ewen Ferguson: I was hitting it really well on the range before the round, and I knew it was going to be windy at the start, so my mindset was just fairways and greens — nothing too fancy.
I’ve got a new putter in play this week, and it felt good in practice. I rolled a nice one on the first for birdie, which was a great way to start, and it kind of just flowed from there, really.
Don’t get me wrong, even my bad shots today still gave me something to work with. I managed to make something out of them, which was key.
The game can kick you sometimes, so when you do get a good break here or there, it’s nice to take advantage of it.
I felt like I was really in control of my ball in the wind. I was holding shots up into the right-to-left breeze, hitting little draws into left pins — like on 9, where I made birdie. I think that’s so important in conditions like this.
I was never standing over the ball thinking, ‘Oh no, this is going to get taken the wrong way by the wind.’ That control made a big difference.
And what a hunt it’s been so far. Ferguson opened his second round with a birdie, the kind that sends a polite reminder to the field that he’s not messing around. He added another at the third, rolled in a third at the ninth, and then turned on the afterburners.
The HotelPlanner Tour alumnus struck again at 11, 13, and 16—but it was the 17th that made jaws drop and stat-trackers double-check their data.
After a wayward drive into the trees (as if just to keep it interesting), Ferguson scrambled his way into position with a tidy punch-out and then pulled a seven-wood from the bag to attack a devilish back-right pin.
The result? Missed the green. The response? Absolute genius. He pitched into the bank, watched it kiss the slope like a lover’s farewell, and trickle gently into the cup for birdie number seven.
“Moments like that,” Ferguson might’ve chuckled later, “are why we keep turning up.”
Meanwhile, Marco Penge, winner of the Hainan Classic and sporting a quiet confidence of his own, followed up Thursday’s 66 with a composed 68. He’s within touching distance but will need to find a few fireworks of his own over the weekend.
A gaggle of players—six to be precise—sit tied for third at seven under. Among them: Dutchman Joost Luiten, who shared the overnight lead; Opening Swing winner John Parry; and the ever-steady Troy Merritt from across the pond.
Each of them knows it’ll take something special to reel in Ferguson, who looks less like a man chasing a title and more like one casually walking toward it with both hands in his pockets.
It’s early yet. We’ve seen winds shift in Belgium faster than a Tour pro switches putters.
But if Ewen Ferguson keeps this up, he might not just win the Soudal Open—he might turn it into a personal highlight reel.
And if he does? Well, the course record’s already got his name on it. Why not the trophy too?
