England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson soared into a two-stroke second-round lead with a three-under par 69 at the Qatar Open Amateur Championship yesterday.
At Doha Golf Club, Thompson got off to a slow start with a bogey on the second hole, but finished in style with three straight birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
With his fine efforts, the 27-year-old moved atop the Pro Leaderboard, two clear of South African Bryce Easton as 50 players made the cut, including two Qataris — Ali al-Shahrani and 2017 runner-up Saleh al-Kaabi.
“It’s been a wonderful day out on the course. I played pretty much the same, like day one; maybe made a couple of more putts on the first day but it was a little bit easier with the wind direction. Same sort of golf but it was about staying patient, hitting good golf shots,” Thompson told Gulf Times.
Talking about the conditions, the Briton said, “The course played a little tricky. Me and my caddy talked about it but in the end it was a great score today on a lot of holes. We stuck to our gameplan and made a lot of good strokes. We got three birdies on the last three holes, which made it a good day. Hopefully it will be much better on the concluding day.”
Thirty two-year-old Easton also posted a fine bogey-free round with a five-under par 137 for the second spot.
Overnight leader Marcel Siem could not maintain the pace and slid down the leaderboard to joint fourth. The German, who started the day with a two-shot lead over Thompson, posted a four-over 76 that put him at four-under par 140. He opened with a bogey on a par five hole and carded four more. He picked is lone birdie of the day on the par-five 10th.
Meanwhile Craig, son of famous Major winner and two-time Commercial Bank Qatar Masters winner Paul Lawrie, carded a five-over 77 to share the 29th spot with Oman’s Azzan al-Rumhi and Paul Maisey, who had a 78 each today.
In the amateur section, overnight leader Tom Santa of France started with a double bogey, but somehow maintained his position with three birdies at gross 74.
Qatar’s Saleh al-Kaabi and Ali al-Shahrani have got the wild-card for Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
This is the third time professionals are participating in the tournament with the organising committee awarding the best three results from the professionals a spot in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which has moved across the Qatari capital from Doha Golf Club for the first time in its 23-year history to Education City Golf Club.
England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson in action during second round of the Qatar Open at the Doha Golf Club yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram
