Lampert lights up the Land of Fire

A trio of eagles, including a hole in one on the fourth hole, were the highlights of an eventful round for Moritz Lampert on the second day of the Azerbaijan Golf Challenge Open.<br /><br />By his own admission the in-form German, who would gain automatic promotion to The European Tour with a third victory of the season this week, rode his luck at The National Azerbaijan Golf Club, but the outcome was a round of 65 and a seven under par aggregate total at the midway stage of the €300,000 event.<br /><br />Lampert, who is attached to Golf Club St Leon-Rot, started his round on the tenth tee, and swiftly charged up the leaderboard after holing out from 100 yards with his sand wedge on the 12th hole.<br /><br />Two birdies followed on the 15th and 17th holes, before a second eagle of the day on the par five second moved the 22 year old to six under par for his round.<br /><br />The best was yet to come on the fourth hole, however, as he struck an eight iron straight into the cup for a ‘slam dunk’ ace.<br /><br />Remarkably, it was the second time Lampert had aced the hole this week, having previously done so in practice.<br /><br />Lampert, who is currently third in the Challenge Tour Rankings, said: “I used a nine iron in practice, but today I thought the wind was a little bit stronger so I took one more club.<br /><br />“As soon as I hit it the wind seemed to disappear, so I thought it would go long but luckily it landed straight in the hole. It’s my first hole in one in a tournament, so it was a very special moment for me.<br /><br />“You’ve got to hit a good shot but there’s also a bit of luck involved, so I just hope I haven’t used it all up already!”<br /><br />Lampert is currently four shots behind the halfway leader Ben Evans, but having already won earlier in the season in Austria and Spain – where he went into the weekend six strokes adrift of the lead – he will quietly fancy his chances of chasing the Englishman down in Quba.<br />