Branden Grace finds himself two shots behind first round leader Jamie Donaldson after a magnificent 65 at the Dubai Desert Classic, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Grace moved into second place with a bogey-free round on Friday that backed up his opening 68.
The 2017 Nedbank Golf Challenge winner has been in superb form in 2018 with a runner-up finish at his home national championship preceding his T15 finish last week. Grace shrugged off his final round 73 at the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club as he got within two of Donaldson through 36 holes.
The South African started Friday with two birdies and never let his momentum slip as he made the turn four under par despite a par on the 18th hole for the second straight day. That par was put swiftly in the past as he birdied the first to continue his climb up the leaderboard.
A two at the par 3 4th and a birdie at the next got Grace to -7 (currently the low round of the day) and -11 for the tournament as he moved into a share of second place.
There was more good news for the South Africans as Trevor Immelman fired a 66 which included one bogey. The former Masters champion, who missed the cut last week despite a great start, is now T6 on -9.
Thomas Aiken is one shot better off after matching his 67 from Thursday. What makes Aiken’s 67 more remarkable is that it contained a triple bogey 8 on the par 5 10th.
Two-time European Tour winner Dylan Frittelli was bogey-free until his final hole which saw him finish with a sour taste; his closing bogey sees him at -8 after a 67 in round two.
South Africa’s top-ranked player, Louis Oosthuizen, is precariously placed on -1 through 36 and in a share of 51st place. His front nine amazingly did not include a single par as he made six birdies, two bogeys and a double to make the turn in two under. The former Open champion then saw both the birdies dry up with a solitary bogey on the 6th hole being his only non-par coming in.
Unlikely to make the cut is Darren Fichardt who stumbled out of the blocks with two bogeys in a row and was +5 through 11. He would go on to make to late bogeys but finished nine shots worse than his opening effort. Fichardt is in the T70 group on -3.
Brandon Stone finished -1 (72,71).
