Paul O'Hara and Alastair Forsyth tied at top in Scottish PGA at West Kilbride

Paul O’Hara and Alastair Forsyth are locked at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship at West Kilbride.

Paul O'Hara plays his second shot at the 18th hole during day one of the Loch Lomond Whiskies' Scottish PGA Championship at West Kilbride. Picture: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images.

On a sun-soaked second day on the Ayrshire coast, the pacesetting duo finished on 11-under aggregates of 131, with Craig Lee lurking menacingly just a shot behind.

Forsyth, the leader after round one, cemented his place at the top with a five-under 66 while O’Hara, the national champion in 2019, bolstered his title tilt with a neatly assembled 65.

With just one bogey in two rounds, O’Hara is certainly in fine fettle and he made hay while the sun shone with a haul of six birdies on day two.

Alastair Forsyth lines up a putt at West Kilbride in the Loch Lomond Whiskies' Scottish PGA Championship. Picture: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images.

“It was a good day for scoring and I was pleased to take advantage,” said O’Hara, who has three second place finishes in the Scottish PGA Championship as well as a win.

“I’m really looking forward to the next couple of days. It’s like a Sky Sports marquee group on the television with big Al and Craig. They are two great former main tour players and I’ll need to be at my best.”

After a slow start to his second circuit, Forsyth injected his round with fresh vigour with a mighty putt of some 50 feet on the seventh for an eagle.

He struggled to make any more inroads, however, until a late thrust which saw him pick up three shots on his last five holes. A birdie chance spurned on the last from six feet left him reflecting on what might have been. All in all, though, it was a good day at the office.

“It ended up better than it was looking early on,” admitted Forsyth, who won the national crown back in 2000. “It’s good to be in the mix. If you are going to win at this level you have to beat the likes of Paul and Craig. You have a good idea who will feature at the top in these events. If you finish ahead of Paul there’s a good chance you’ll win.”

Deeside’s Sam Kiloh is still very much in the mix on nine-under after a purposeful 65 that started with three birdies in his first four holes.

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