Justin Harding, George Coetzee and Mike Lorenzo-Vera all made it back-to-back rounds of 68 to share the lead heading into the weekend at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
South Africa has more wins (five) at this event than any other country, and Harding and Coetzee will be looking to extend that advantage, although a rejuvenated Lorenzo-Vera will be aiming to stop them and claim a first French victory.
The 34-year-old has brought a new mental attitude to Doha Golf Club as he seeks his first European Tour title in 178 events, and he set the target at eight-under after going out in the very first group of the day.
Harding, also seeking a maiden victory, and four-time winner Coetzee then reined him in during the afternoon to sit a shot ahead of another South African in Erik van Rooyen, the Spaniard Adri Arnaus, Japanese Masahiro Kawamura and England’s Oliver Wilson.
Harding finished third on the Asian Tour last season and has three top tens in 2019.
‘Each day is its own puzzle,’ he said. ”You’ve got to go sort it out, you can’t go out there thinking you’re going to play well, that’s certainly not the case.
‘I’ve obviously got a bit of confidence and that’s been built up through time and through some nice performances.’
Harding birdied the first and bogeyed the second, but got on the green at the par-five tenth in two and then put approaches inside 15 feet on the 11th and 12th for a hat-trick of birdies. A tee shot to three feet on the 17th gave him a share of the lead and he did well to save par after finding water on the last.
Coetzee was bogey-free and made a long putt on the eighth to go with birdies on the tenth, first and fifth to move to eight-under.
Van Rooyen had birdies on the 12th, 16th, 17th, third and ninth to go with a dropped shot on the 18th.
Jacques Kruyswijk is in the pack two shots off the lead.
Credit: European Tour
