Rozner’s fiery spirit leads the way in Dubai

Defending champion Antoine Rozner posted six birdies in the final eight holes of his second round to take a one shot lead at the halfway mark of the AVIV Dubai Championship on 15 under par.

The Frenchman birdied the first and seventh holes on his front nine and picked up another on the 11^th, but his round really gathered momentum with four consecutive birdies from the 13^th before he closed out with an eighth of the day on the 18th for an eight under round of 64.

That followed his opening 65 and means the 28 year old is now 40 under par for his six rounds on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates after claiming his maiden European Tour title with a winning total of 25 under par last year.

Rozner holds a one stroke advantage over Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who also posted a bogey-free 64, and first round leader Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark, who signed for a round of 67.

Antoine Rozner:
“Stay aggressive is the mindset, you have be aggressive over and over. I did that really well last year, obviously I can use that experience from last year and that’s helping me. Last year I was so aggressive over four rounds and I think it’s paying off this week so if I keep doing what I’m doing over the next two days, hopefully there will be a good result in there.”

Finland’s Kalle Samooja also produced an impressive scoring run, firing six consecutive birdies on his back nine of 29 in a round of 64 to sit in third position on 13 under par.

Fleetwood
Ryder Cup player Tommy Fleetwood is a further shot back after back-to-back rounds of 66, with the Englishman staying patient after a slow start, which included a dropped shot on the second, to move up the leaderboard with seven birdies in his final 12 holes. He shares fifth position with fellow Englishman Paul Waring whose 67 featured eight birdies, one bogey and a double bogey on the 13^th after losing his ball.

Tommy Fleetwood: “It was a poor start. I missed a chance on the first and then missed a short putt. On such a low scoring course if you have a dry patch it feels so much worse. I holed a putt on seven and played really, really well coming in and had plenty of chances. I felt like I did a good job of continuing to play and hitting good golf shots. I didn’t get panicked or frustrated that I hadn’t had the start I would like. And then it all came together, which doesn’t always happen. But it did and it was another good day.”

Chasing Pack