Karlsson goes clear after sparkling 61 score

For a few magical moments today Robert Karlsson thought he could be just minutes away from becoming the first player ever to score 59 on the European Tour.

As with everybody else in that envious position so far it did not happen, but setting a new course record of 61 and equalling the lowest round of his 20-year Tour career was good enough for the Ryder Cup Swede.

Having opted for the relatively low-key Italian Open rather than golf’s richest event – and that despite finishing sixth in the Players Championship last year - Karlsson leads by two from England’s Mark Foster and South African Hennie Otto at halfway.

His round at Castello di Tolcinasco just south of Milan even included a drive into water on the 433-yard 13th, his fourth.

But the 38-year-old had started with three successive birdies, he then eagled the 15th and first with putts of 30 and 20 feet and when he birdied four of the next six he was 10 under for the day.

That meant a birdie-eagle finish on the short eighth and 513-yard ninth would bring that 59.

“It did cross my mind, but I’ve had some problems on eight in the past – I was pretty happy with a three there,” he said.

A closing 10-foot birdie putt gave Karlsson a 15-under total which matches the third lowest in Tour history for 36 holes and now his sights are on a win which would lift him from eighth to sixth in the Ryder Cup race.

The money on offer may not compare to Sawgrass – £1.3m (€1.6m) against £4.8m (€6m) – but victory will bring him 24 world ranking points and that is the same as finishing fourth in Florida.

“It’s obviously not right. As an achievement it’s not even close, but it’s good for the European Tour and if I can pull off the win here it’ll be good for me too,” Karlsson added.

He would have gone to Florida if he had known he was in the field earlier, but confusion over whether the cut-off point for the world’s top 50 was this Monday or the previous one made him decide to stay in Europe.

Karlsson, currently ranked 48th, added: “There are many plusses to coming here. It cuts down on the travelling and I get to see the kids on Monday too before going to Ireland.”

Otto, battling to regain a full Tour card, added a 66 to his opening 65, while Foster hit back from a double bogey with two birdies in his last three holes for a 66.

Nick Dougherty, just three days on from his mother’s funeral, lost a ball and also took six on the par-four sixth, but he was still round in 66 for seven under.

John Daly, however, managed to follow up his 67 with only a 73 for four under and had to wait for confirmation that he had survived the cut.