Pablo Larrazabal displayed a superb back nine fightback to retain the lead at the halfway stage of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club.
The Spaniard leads by one on nine under par after posting a one under par round of 71 on day two, but the 38-year-old’s second round was truly a tale of two nines.
The overnight leader made the turn at four over par following a double bogey on the par five ninth, but immediately responded with an eagle at the tenth. Three additional birdies put the finishing touches to a five under par back nine to complete a return to the top of the leaderboard on a windy day in Doha.
“It was a tough start,” said Larrazabal. “I didn’t expect the drive on the first to go so far right. I started par-bogey-bogey and that wasn’t in the plans for Friday. I went bogey-double bogey on eight and nine to shoot 40 on the front nine but I said to Raul, come on, yesterday we shot six under on the back and we know that we like the back.
“We know that we’re playing good enough, we’re not playing to shoot 40, we’re playing much better than 40 on the front nine. It was one of those days where you have to keep working and believe in the way you’ve been playing the last month or so and to keep fighting. There are a lot of birdie chances on the back and I took a few.”
The six-time DP World Tour winner is closely followed by Chase Hanna of the United States, Poland’s Adrian Meronk and South African Wilco Nienaber, who all share second place on eight under par, with Romain Langasque of France a shot further back on seven under par.
Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, English duo Daniel Gavins and Matthew Jordan, and Austrian Lukas Nemecz share sixth place on six under par, while Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult, whose seven under par round of 65 was the lowest round of the day, is part of the group in a tie for tenth at five under par.
