Brandon Robinson-Thompson has taken a 2-shot lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – part of the DP World Tour.
The Isle of Wight golfer escaped from the chasing back with an eagle on the 16th hole. His round – which was bogey-free – also featured birdies on the 8th and 10th holes.
Brandon finished his 2nd round with 68, cementing his place at the top of the leaderboard with 10 under par.
South Korean MK Kim and the Chinese Wenyl Ding and Li Haotong were tied for 2nd place on 8 under. Japan’s Keita Nakajima and England’s Dan Brown were a further shot back in joint 5th.
Robinson-Thompson – who was brought up in Totland and first started learning golf at Freshwater Golf Club – said of the course at Doha:
“I’ve been here so many times. I used to come here every year for about 5 or 6 years.
“I’ve played this course 50 or 60 times. I’m so comfortable out here.
“There isn’t a shot that I probably haven’t seen already, and I have a bit of support out here.
Article continues below this advertisement “I’ve had a lot of friends I’ve met who have come out and supported me. It’s like a home game for me and that’s where the confidence and comfort comes from.”
Brandon said of Friday’s performance:
“A great morning. It was tough, actually. The wind was ripping early. I thought the pins were quite tricky, so it was a lot of discipline.
“I hit a lot of shots to 30-40 feet and took my 2 putts and tried to take advantage of holes I could give myself chances on.
“Snuck one in on 16, hit driver to 3 or 4 feet. Happy with how I stayed patient and it’s good to finish bogey free.”
