Paul Dunne is again perfectly placed going into the weekend of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after carding a two under par 70 following yesterday’s 67. Dunne finds himself in a similar position he held at this stage last week but let slip over the weekend in AbuDhabi. It was a disappointing day for Graeme McDowell as he followed up yesterday’s 66 with a 75 today to drop back to tied 45th in the tightly packed field. Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan is among a European Tour record nine-way share of the lead at the halfway mark of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. The Englishman moved up the leaderboard courtesy of a bogey-free second round 68, with all four of his birdies coming on his back nine as he matched the clubhouse target of eight under par. That had been initially set by Finland’s Mikko Korhonen, who recovered from double bogey seven on the ninth hole to card a one under par 71, and he was joined by Spanish pair Jorge Campillo (67) and Nacho Elvira (69) Welshman Bradley Dredge (72) and South African Thomas Aiken (68), before Aiken’s compatriot Jaco Van Zyl, playing in the afternoon groups, became the seventh player to share the lead. Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (70) and Korea’s Jeunghun Wang (67), who were grouped together, then made it nine players tied at the top, the first time that has happened at the 36-hole stage of any tournament on the European Tour. It also equalled the record for the most number of players tied for the lead after any completed round in a European Tour event, set after the opening round of the Wales Open in 2007. Meanwhile, with the cut falling at two under par – just six shots behind the leaders – Englishman Chris Paisley secured his spot for the weekend with a spectacular finish to his round, birdieing the 16th and 18th holes, with an ace on the par three 17th sandwiched in between thanks to perfect nine iron from 135 yards. Paisley looked to be on his way home before he covered the back nine in just 30 shots to sign for a round of 67 and a three under par total, with the added bonus of US$150,000 from Qatar Duty Free for the hole-in-one, which was his first on the European Tour. Player Quotes Andy Sullivan: “I had a frustrating start to the day. I thought the front nine was a nine I could really get going and sort of platform me into the back nine, but it didn’t really happen. I thought tee-to-green, I struck it really well, but didn’t quite convert the putts. My caddie just told me to be patient on this nine and I was still hitting good shots. Finally the putts started to drop. All in all, I’m reasonably happy with that. I feel going into the weekend, I just need to improve on the par five scoring.” Alex Noren: “It was quite a tricky day. I didn’t maybe play my best all the way around. But you know, two under par for the day, heading into the weekend, anything can happen.” “I feel a lot more pressure in general, as the highest-ranked player. But I’m trying not to think about it too much. It’s in the back of my mind, but there are so many good players here. It’s not all about the rankings. You have to keep it up, as well.” Chris Paisley: “I was in between a wedge and a nine iron and I decided to go with a little nine iron. I just hit it perfectly and when it landed, I said, go in, and it did. So yeah, I’m just delighted.” “It’s strange, I went 27 holes this week without making a birdie, and I go three over par, and I’m struggling to make the cut. And then all of a sudden I made a couple of birdies and had a hole-in-one and I was inside the cut mark. I suppose it shows you, never give up. This is my first on The European Tour and I think that’s five in total. This is definitely the most memorable.”
Complete round two scores 136 K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 66 70, N Elvira (Esp) 67 69, M Korhonen (Fin) 65 71, T Aiken (RSA) 68 68, A Sullivan (Eng) 68 68, B Dredge (Wal) 64 72, J Campillo (Esp) 69 67, J Wang (Kor) 69 67, J Van Zyl (RSA) 67 69, 137 P Dunne (Irl) 67 70, C Hanson (Eng) 68 69, D Im (USA) 68 69, J Smith (Eng) 71 66, S Dyson (Eng) 67 70, L Bjerregaard (Den) 69 68, A Wall (Eng) 68 69, 138 A Noren (Swe) 68 70, R Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71, D Lipsky (USA) 72 66, D Frittelli (RSA) 71 67, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 68, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 69, G Storm (Eng) 68 70, E Els (RSA) 68 70, A Levy (Fra) 69 69, A Björk (Swe) 69 69, 139 J Lagergren (Swe) 67 72, C Wood (Eng) 69 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 69, S Walker (Eng) 68 71, A Knappe (Ger) 67 72, 140 P Hanson (Swe) 70 70, R Langasque (Fra) 70 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 71 69, G Havret (Fra) 69 71, D Lingmerth (Swe) 71 69, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 70, T Bjørn (Den) 68 72, P Larrazábal (Esp) 69 71, J Carlsson (Swe) 71 69, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 70 70, J Stalter (Fra) 69 71, N Kimsey (Eng) 66 74, O Fisher (Eng) 70 70, 141 C Paisley (Eng) 74 67, S Gros (Fra) 72 69, P Peterson (USA) 71 70, S Hend (Aus) 69 72, J Luiten (Ned) 71 70, T Detry (Bel) 67 74, M Pavon (Fra) 71 70, A Karlsson (Swe) 68 73, G McDowell (Nir) 66 75, R Bland (Eng) 70 71, T Olesen (Den) 70 71, D Burmester (RSA) 70 71, 142 D Perrier (Fra) 72 70, P Edberg (Swe) 70 72, B Hebert (Fra) 70 72, D Brooks (Eng) 68 74, R Karlberg (Swe) 69 73, M Kaymer (Ger) 70 72, D Fichardt (RSA) 72 70, R Fox (Nzl) 72 70, D Drysdale (Sco) 71 71, S Lee (Kor) 69 73, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 72, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 73, R Ramsay (Sco) 68 74, M Warren (Sco) 69 73, 143 M Manassero (Ita) 70 73, A Otaegui (Esp) 71 72, P Lawrie (Sco) 70 73, C Shinkwin (Eng) 68 75, P Angles (Esp) 70 73, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 75, T Jaidee (Tha) 69 74, H Porteous (RSA) 73 70, S Brazel (Aus) 74 69, J Quesne (Fra) 71 72, 144 E De La Riva (Esp) 72 72, L Haotong (Chn) 69 75, M Armitage (Eng) 72 72, R Rock (Eng) 72 72, J Scrivener (Aus) 72 72, L Jensen (Den) 72 72, L Slattery (Eng) 73 71, 145 J Walters (RSA) 74 71, J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 73, M Kieffer (Ger) 70 75, M Carlsson (Swe) 73 72, G Coetzee (RSA) 74 71, D Howell (Eng) 71 74, B Ritthammer (Ger) 73 72, K Broberg (Swe) 74 71, F Zanotti (Par) 73 72, 146 M Southgate (Eng) 74 72, G Stal (Fra) 73 73, S Gallacher (Sco) 75 71, J Lima (Por) 75 71, R Wattel (Fra) 71 75, S Tiley (Eng) 71 75, T Fleetwood (Eng) 73 73, R Paratore (Ita) 71 75, T Immelman (RSA) 71 75, D Stewart (Sco) 74 72, 147 R Gouveia (Por) 71 76, E Molinari (Ita) 78 69, S Jamieson (Sco) 72 75, 148 N Fasth (Swe) 73 75, M Ilonen (Fin) 74 74, 149 S Chawrasia (Ind) 70 79, P Waring (Eng) 73 76, 150 Y El Hassani (Mar) 71 79, P Verlaar Junior (am) (Ned) 77 73, 151 W Ormsby (Aus) 76 75, 152 J Olazábal (Esp) 75 77, A Al Kaabi (am) (Qat) 76 76, 154 S Henry (Sco) 79 75, A Quiros (Esp) 76 78, 155 C Lutton (Sco) 74 81, N Holman (Aus) 77 78, 158 P Dedek (Cze) 82 76, 170 A Al Shahrani (am) (Qat) 84 86, ** A Cañizares (Esp) 71 WD, M Siem (Ger) 71 DQ,
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