Ricardo Gonzalez sets Gleneagles pace

Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez leads the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles after another brilliant 65 on day two put him -14.

Joint-leader after his opening round, five birdies in a row to close out his 65 put him top of the leaderboard on Friday afternoon.

But Wiesberger is still finely poised as he makes a successful return to Perthshire two years after losing to Thomas Björn in a play-off.

The Austrian, who has made 17 cuts in a row since last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, is back at Gleneagles for the first time since he was part of that five man play-off in 2011, when Dane Björn prevailed.

Since then he has won twice on The European Tour, in Korea and Austria, and the return to venue for next year’s Ryder Cup, which he hopes to be part of, appeared to inspire him once again.

“I enjoy this course,” he said. “It feels a little bit like home where you have these hilly slopes and it suits my eye. It feels not easy, but a good chance for me to score well and do well.

“I came here with the feeling that I like the golf course, I like the weather, and playing in these colder conditions, I think it suits me. I’m very relaxed. I had last week off, so I feel quite fresh coming into this tournament and that helped me.”

In contrast, four-time European Tour champion Gonzalez has been short of form recently and is without a top ten finish this season.

But he said: “I like the course and that’s the key for a good round. I think the weather opened my eyes and made me take more concentration on my putter and my driver. It is a long time since I was leading a tournament, and it’s good to start on the right foot.”