Qatar Masters: Record-Breaking Nine-Way Tie at the Top After 36

Nine players atop the leaderboard at the Qatar Masters now share in a piece of golf history.

You can have your Tiger Woods extravaganza at Torrey Pines all you want. Over at the Qatar Masters, we’ve got a nine-way tie for the lead through 36 holes. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is.

Nine were tied for the lead after one round of the 1997 Wales Open, but never have as many shared the lead entering the weekend.

While Big Cat could be moving his way back to Jupiter, moving day in the Middle East should be spectacular.

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The biggest names of the leading bunch at eight-under-par 136 are Thailand’s portly hero, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, and 2016 Ryder Cup rookie, Andy Sullivan.

On Friday, Aphibarnat went out in a birdie-less 38, but came in with a bogey-less, four-under nine of 32 to join the fray.

Sullivan is hitting three of every four fairways and lacks an error on the card. The Englishman has feasted on Doha GC’s front nine for a combined six-under-par in the stretch.

Another co-leader, Welsh journeyman Bradley Dredge owns the low round of the tournament, an eight-under-par 64 on Thursday. An up-and-down even par round of 72 has the 43-year-old going in the wrong direction to land his first European Tour title in over a decade.

The European Tour’s 2016 Rookie of the Year, South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang (69-67), is also at eight-under.

Don’t count out perhaps the hottest player in the world, No. 10 Alex Noren. He has four wins since July and looks out to prove his fine form wasn’t lost in the winter months. He’s lurking at six-under thanks to tidiness on the greens (10th in putts per round) that outweigh his driving accuracy and GIR marks that rank toward the bottom of those who made the cut.

Other big names around for the weekend include Ernie Els (-6) and Thomas Bjørn (-4) turning back the clock, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (-4), Graeme McDowell (-3) and Martin Kaymer (-2).

It’s stating the obvious that no one has separated themselves to this point in the proceedings, but that’s not to say Doha GC has been an extraordinary challenge.

The 36-hole cut was made to 70 golfers at two-under. With a 10-stroke rule, 106 of 124 golfers would be around for Saturday and 87 of them at par or better.

A seven-way tie for 10th place stands one stroke back. Jordan Smith and Simon Dyson at one back tee off over an hour before the leaders and could very well be out in front by multiple strokes before Mikko Korhonen and Jorge Campillo go off last.

It might be far fetched to expect another nine-way tie going into Sunday, but we could have a good ol’ fashioned game of musical chairs for the lead throughout the afternoon.

There’ll be plenty of time to catch the talented field in California, but a wild finish appears destiny in Qatar.

PSA: The European Tour’s social media continues to be excellent:

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36-Hole Leaderboard

T1. Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jeunghun Wang, Jaco Van Zyl, Andy Sullivan, Thomas Aiken, Nacho Elvira, Bradley Dredge, Mikko Korhonen, Jorge Campillo — eight-under 136

T10. Jordan Smith, Simon Dyson, Daniel Im, Paul Dunne, Chris Hanson, Lucas Bjerregaard, Anthony Wall — seven-under 135

T17. 10 golfers at six-under

T27. Five at five-under

T32. 13 at four-under

T45. 12 at three-under

T57. 14 at two-under