Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson rode his luck on the final hole, finishing with an eagle to take a one-shot lead at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
It looked for most of the day that Daniel Hillier’s 11-under-par halfway total would be enough to lead going into the weekend at Emirates Golf Club. However, Ferguson, who currently resides in Dubai, chipped in on the eighth as he turned in 32 then birdied the long tenth from close range.
Big Names Out As Ferguson Shines
As big names such as Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland failed to make the cut, Ewen Ferguson’s course management paid off: ” I think I played well. I just stuck to my game plan. I didn’t try and overpower the course like I had tried to last year. It’s just not my game. I hit seven-wood on some of the shorter holes that are tight and gave myself chances.”
Six straight pars looked to have derailed the 28-year-old’s chances of leading outright, but he holed a 30-footer at the 17th to get within one then saw his second to the par-five last clatter off the stand behind the green and bounce back to five feet, with the subsequent eagle giving him a 65 and 12-under halfway total.
Hillier Short Stick On Fire
New Zealand’s Hillier had also eagled the 18th at the Majlis Course, albeit in more orthodox fashion from 15 feet, in a flawless round of 65. Though he remarked on how his game has different during the opening two rounds: “Day one I striped it off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances. Just a solid round of golf. Today a few extra putts went in than I was expecting. Yeah, it’s nice to see those drop and hopefully they keep dropping.
Moving Day Chasers
The pair are well clear of the chasing pack, with South African Shaun Norris, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and English pair Laurie Canter and Tyrrell Hatton tied for third on eight under.
Four-time Hero Dubai Desert Classic winner Rory McIlroy currently sits eight shots off the lead at three under par.
