Robinson-Thompson shoots 68 to lead at halfway stage

England’s Brandon Robinson-Thompson continued his impressive recent form to secure a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters on Friday. Robinson-Thompson, who smashed the course record with an opening 61 to finish eighth in Bahrain last week, carded a second round of 68 under tough conditions at Doha Golf Club (DGC) to reach 10-under-par.
South Korean MK Kim and Chinese pair Wenyi Ding and Li Haotong were in a tie for second on eight under after they each signed for 67s on day two. Japan’s Keita Nakajima and England’s Dan Brown were another shot back in joint-fifth.
Speaking about Friday’s round, the 32-year-old Englishman said: “A was 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 two putts and tried to take advantage of holes I could give myself chances on. Snuck one in on 16, hit the driver to three or four feet. Happy with how I stayed patient and it’s good to finish bogey free.”
Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who shared the overnight lead with Robinson-Thompson, could only manage a second round of 72 to remain six-under.
Robinson-Thompson took the lead into the weekend after an extraordinary eagle on the 16th moved him out of the chasing pack’s reach.
Robinson-Thompson kept the momentum going in the second round as he fired a spotless 68 which contained birdies at the eighth and tenth and a remarkable eagle on the par-four 16th after a morning start. He drove the 16th green, sending his tee-shot to four feet, before tapping in the eagle putt to climb to ten under par.
After finishing up with two closing pars, he set a testing clubhouse target which none of the afternoon starters were able to match. Robinson-Thompson, who failed to make the cut by just a single stroke in the last year’s US Open, revealed Qatar feels like a home from home for him, having spent a lot of time there over the years.
“I’ve been here so many times. I used to come here every year for about five or six 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,” Robinson-Thompson said.
“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.”
With an opening four-under-par 68 Jean Bekirian became the first Armenian to make the DP World Tour cut in Qatar. The 22-year-old carded a 74 on Friday to ensure safe progress to the weekend at two under. Bekirian, who changed his nationality from French to Armenian last year, is making his third start of the 2025 Race to Dubai after earning his DP World Tour card via Qualifying School.
He began his second round with a birdie at the tenth but made bogeys at the 11th and 16th along with a double-bogey at the 18th, before recovering one of those dropped shots at the fourth in a blemish-free back nine.
“I am very happy about that (making history),” he said. “It was a very tough day today. The game was good, like on Friday, but my wedging wasn’t very good. I needed to play one under on the back nine to make the cut and I’m very happy about that. I hope this will lead to another cut in the future.”
The DP World Tour has players from 41 different counties exempt for the 2025 season. “In the past I had trouble making cuts, a lot of times I missed by one or two. So I’m very happy to make the cut and I’ll do my best to finish as well as I can in the tournament,” the American said.
Wild-card entrant Daniil Sokolov’s failed to make the cut. The 13-year-old shot a four-over 76 in the second round on Friday to back up his opening-round 75. It was a big improvement on his effort in the same event last year as a 12-year-old, when he shot rounds of 78 and 82, but at seven over par, he won’t be playing the weekend.