Marcus Armitage produced a big finish to sit two shots clear of a stellar chasing pack at the halfway stage of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
The Englishman came into the day with a commanding four-stroke lead following his stunning 63 on Thursday but his advantage had been wiped out by the time he teed off at 11:45am local time.
Birdies at the 3rd and 4th saw Armitage regain the outright lead but he was punished by the tough stretch around the turn as he made three bogeys and just one birdie in six holes from the 7th.
A 23-foot birdie at the 15th handed him a share of the lead, though, and he saved his best for last, chipping in for a bonus birdie on the 17th to hit the front on his own before a closing gain moved him to 12 under par at the midway point of the tournament.
Early starters Alejandro del Rey and Dan Brown were Armitage’s nearest challengers on 10 under after firing rounds of 66 and 64 respectively.
South Africa’s Shaun Norris shared 10th place on six under after carding a 68 that included five birdies and a bogey, with countrymen Dylan Frittelli, Jayden Schaper and Brandon Stone a further two strokes behind.
The moment of the day came from Daniel Gavins, who made a hole-in-one at the par-three 7th from 167 yards using a pitching wedge.
🚨 HOLE-IN-ONE 🚨
Gavins from 166-yards 👏#RAKGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/wYVv2HaLF6
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 24, 2025
Armitage continued the fine form he had shown on Thursday as he got his second round under way, producing a delightful chip down the hill to set up a close-range birdie at the 3rd.
He followed that up with an 18-foot birdie on the 4th to reclaim the outright lead but he sandwiched his next birdie – on the 8th – between bogeys at the 7th and 9th to sit alongside early clubhouse leaders Brown and Del Rey as he reached the turn.
After finding water off the 12th tee, Armitage dropped a shot there to slip one stroke off the lead but finished with a flourish, picking up fine birdies at the 15th and 17th before coming agonisingly close to holing his approach at the last for an eagle.
He instead settled for a closing birdie to sign for a battling 69.
“It was always going to be a tough day today, following up yesterday,” Armitage said. “I felt calm out there and I got rewarded for being patient at the end there. So yeah, really happy.
“I just wanted to break 70 today. That was the little goal inside my head that I had and I achieved that at the last with the best shot of the day. Just really pleased and let’s see what the weekend brings.
“Holing out at the last would’ve been the old thing about ‘it’s your week’ kind of thing. It was a perfect number for me and the best swing of the day, but we settled with a birdie.
“It’s probably the best I’ve done over the first two rounds ever. There’ll be new challenges over the weekend and I’ll look forward to embracing them.”
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
