Eddie Pepperell Leads Omega Dubai Desert Classic At Halfway Stage

England’s Eddie Pepperell holds the lead of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the halfway stage, following his second-round score of 67.

Eddie Pepperell, who sits just outside the top 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings, was in the group in a tie for 3rd at the end of the first day but shot five-under-par on Friday to move to the top of the standings at the Dubai Desert Classic.

The Englishman had seven birdies and two bogeys in his second round, and he now sits a shot clear of the field at -8, with 36 holes to play at Emirates GC in Dubai.

Three men are currently in a tie for 2nd at -7, with one of those being the reigning Omega Dubai Desert Classic champion, Bryson DeChambeau.

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The American shot 70 on opening day, before fighting back to shoot a 67 on Friday afternoon, despite bogeying both the 6th and the 15th.

DeChambeau is joined by South Africa’s Dean Burmester and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, with the pair both shooting 69, 68 over the first two days of the tournament.

China’s Ashun Wu and Frenchman Romain Langasque are two shots off the lead in a tie for 5th, with a further four golfer sitting at -5, three back from Pepperell.

Victor Perez, one of the trio of players that finished in a tie for 2nd at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA, is among those in T7, with South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout also in the group, the pair both recovering from Thursday 73s to card 66s today.

They are joined by Germany’s Sebastian Heisele and young American Kurt Kitayama, with the group rounding out the top ten at the halfway stage.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood carded the best round of the day, with his 65 on Friday seeing him move up 63 places on the leaderboard, helped but this lovely chip in.

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The World No.10 has now made 44 consecutive cuts worldwide, as is sitting at -4 in a tie for 11th, alongside Adri Arnaus, Lucas Herbert and Matthieu Pavon.

Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland are a further shot back, five off the lead going into the second half of the tournament, with 2007 champion Henrik Stenson and England’s Jack Singh Brar at -2, six back.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Spain’s Sergio Garcia, and South African Louis Oosthuizen are at -1, seven off the lead. They are joined by American David Lipsky, who started the day in 2nd at -4 but posted a 75 on the second day to drop down into a tie for 25th.

31 players are in the red numbers going into the weekend, with a further ten at level par. They include overnight leader Thomas Pieters, who carded a second-round 77 to drop from -5 to even par. Ian Poulter, Robert MacIntyre, and Gavin Green are also among those level through 36 holes.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, Erik van Rooyen, and Danny Willett are among those that are currently over par but still make the cut, with the cut line coming at +2.

Last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA winner Lee Westwood had to play well on Friday to recover from an opening round of 78 to sit at +2, within ten of the lead with two day’s left in Dubai.

However, for the likes of Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Rasmus Højgaard, it was not to be, with those four among those that missed the cut at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The 71 golfers who have made it through to the weekend will go out in pairs tomorrow, with the first group out at 07:15 (GMT+4). Eddie Pepperell and Robert Karlsson will go out at 12:53 (GMT+4) in the final pairing, with the Englishman looking to extend his lead at the top.

Will it be Pepperell who takes the top spot once again come Saturday evening, or will he be usurped by the chasing pack at the end of 54 holes?

Leaderboard:

1 (-8): Eddie Pepperell (ENG)
T2 (-7): Robert Karlsson (SWE), Dean Burmester (RSA), Bryson DeChambeau (USA)
T5 (-6): Ashun Wu (CHN), Romain Langasque (FRA)

Selected Others:

T7 (-5): Victor Perez (FRA), Kurt Kitayama (USA), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA)
T11 (-4): Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Adri Arnaus (ESP)
T15 (-3): Shane Lowry (IRL), Viktor Hovland (NOR)
T18 (-2): Henrik Stenson (SWE), Shaun Norris (RSA), Jack Singh Brar (ENG)
T25 (-1): Martin Kaymer (GER), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), David Lipsky (USA), Sergio Garcia (ESP)

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Missed Cut:

T72 (+3): Graeme McDowell (NIR), Ross Fisher (ENG), Jayden Trey Schaper (A, RSA)
T79 (+4): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Pablo Larrazabal (ESP)
T91 (+5): Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), David Howell (ENG)
T107 (+8): Rasmus Højgaard (DEN), Shubhankar Sharma (IND)
T113 (+9): Matt Wallace (ENG), Paul Waring (ENG)

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