Joshua Berry will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend of the UAE Challenge after posting a four under par round of 68 on day two at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
The Englishman, who started the day in a share of the lead, fired seven birdies in his first 11 holes to move clear of the rest of the field, and despite dropping three strokes in his final three holes, ended the day on 11 under par.
The 18-year-old, who turned professional just over six months ago after securing playing privileges through DP World Tour Qualifying School, was delighted with his efforts over the opening two days.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “If you’d told me at the start of the day that I was going to shoot four under on the back of yesterday, I’d have taken it.
“Tee to green I’ve been quite solid. Today, I holed a couple more putts in the first twelve holes, but I’ve hit it well all week. Tomorrow, I’ll just go and do the same things but try to finish the round off a little bit better than I did today.”
Fellow teenager Oscar Craig, who has stepfather Tommy Fleetwood as his caddie this week, also impressed as he made the cut by one shot on two under par following an impressive performance so far.
The 17-year-old carded a second-round 73 with a birdie on the last hole proving enough to secure his progress into the weekend – the only amateur to do so.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Craig. “At the start of the week I wanted to make the cut, but I just wanted to make sure that I tried my best on every single golf shot that I hit.
“My emotions were all over the place on the final few holes to be honest, I was pretty nervous. Coming down the last hole, realising I needed to make par to be safe I was just like ‘let’s do it’ and I ended up making birdie. I was so happy.”
Fleetwood, who played in the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour last week, added: “Oscar did his job out there today, and I’m very proud of him.”
The third round gets underway at 07:30 tomorrow, with Berry teeing off at 09:30 and Craig at 08:42.
Golf fans are encouraged to come along to this week’s UAE Challenge, which is supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Arena, Phoenix Capital and Al Laith to see the stars of tomorrow in action with entry free of charge and no ticket required.
