German Marcel Siem remains three shots in front at the Trophee Hassan II despite a mixed four-under second round of 68. The 32-year-old carded three bogeys on Friday at the Golf du Palais Royal in the Moroccan city of Agadir, but his seven birdies ensured Siem remained well clear at the top of the leaderboard. Siem, who has moved up to 12 under overall, leads Finland&aposs Mikko Ilonen and David Horsey of England by three strokes, while Pablo Larrazabal of Spain is fourth, just one shot further back. After his blistering start to the European Tour event on Thursday, Siem, who began his second round on the back nine, opened up with consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th holes and by the 17th was four under for the day. But a bogey on the par-four 18th was followed by two more on the 4th and 7th holes as Siem stalled. A double-bogey on the par-five 15th denied Ilonen the chance to sit just one shot behind Siem, but the 33-year-old Finn followed that disastrous hole with a birdie and an eagle to card a six-under 66 and join Horsey on nine-under overall. Larrazabal, who produced a par round on the opening day in Agadir, struck 10 birdies to manage an eight-under round of 64. The 29-year-old Spaniard sits two shots ahead of Craig Lee of Scotland, Austria&aposs Bernd Wiesberger and Andreas Harto of Denmark. Scott Arnold is the best-placed Australian after his second consecutive round of 71 left him on two under for the tournament. Daniel Popovic is on par overall, while Richard Green is two shots further back. The cut excluded any player on four over or worse, eliminating the likes of Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Jose Maria Olazabal, Peter Lawrie, Scott Jamieson and Gregory Bourdy.
Author: Omnisport