American Cameron Young held a three-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as defending champion Rory McIlroy remained well off the pace.
Young added a second round of 64 to his opening 67 at Emirates Golf Club to reach 13 under par, with England’s Andy Sullivan and Poland’s Adrian Meronk his nearest challengers on 10 under.
Seeking a record fourth win in the event, McIlroy recorded five birdies and three bogeys in a round of 70 which left him 10 strokes off the lead.
Young, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour, carded nine birdies and a solitary bogey on the ninth, his final hole of the day, after finding the water left of the green with his approach.
“I putted fantastic,” the world number 25 said. “I made a couple of long ones yesterday and then made a few more today that had no right going in I feel like.
“I hit a bunch of good putts, but just one of those days where you kind of have a couple of 30-footers and you look up and they are going right in the middle, which doesn’t happen all that often to have a bunch of them in one round.
“I’m doing a really good job of staying out of my own way. Kind of realised it was going well early, but the back nine, at the same time, it feels like you should do that to some extent, especially in the morning with not much wind.”
Meronk, who won three times on the DP World Tour last year and was voted player of the year by his peers, added a flawless 66 to his opening 68, while Sullivan returned a second successive 67.
“The experience [of winning] gives you a little more confidence that you’ve done it before, so you can do it again,” Meronk said.
“The key is just to stick to your plan for your game, trust your shots, full commitment. Don’t get too ahead of yourself.
“It’s easy to say, but I think you have to experience it first and then it gets easier, but it’s never easy. But at least I have some experience under my belt.”
McIlroy looked set to climb up the leaderboard after he birdied the second and seventh, but he bogeyed the eighth after a sliced drive plugged in the desert and also dropped a shot on the ninth following another wayward tee shot.
The world number two also followed a birdie on the 10th with a bogey on the next and took an angry swipe at the rough following a fluffed pitch on the 17th, but at least ended the day on a high with a birdie from 20 feet on the 18th.
Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura threatened to card just the second 59 in DP World Tour history when he covered his first 12 holes in 10 under par thanks to an eagle and eight birdies, but bogeyed his penultimate hole and had to settle for a 63.
Nevertheless, that was a 12-shot improvement on his opening round and lifted Kawamura into a tie for seventh on six under par.
Dubai Invitational winner Tommy Fleetwood celebrated his 33rd birthday with a 70 to finish five under.
Emily Odwin helps SMU defend AAC Women’s Golf title; becomes first Barbadian golfer to win American Collegiate Conference Championship
Top Bajan female golfer, Emily Odwin, made history when she became the first Barbadian golfer to win an American Collegiate Conference Championship by helping the Southern Methodist University Mustangs win the American Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championship from April 15-17 at the Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Florida.
Odwin’s Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs staged a major come back from a tournament-low 12-under 276 to move up two spots.
They then overcome a nine-stroke deficit to secure the title, becoming only the second team to repeat as champions in the process.
Odwin, who is also the first Barbadian female to ever play NCAA Division One golf, had a five-under 211 to lead her team’s charge along with teammates Ellie Szerk and Mackenzie Lee. All three tied for fifth in the individual standings.
Odwin shot a three-under 33 on the back nine to shoot up the standings.
She joined the Mustangs after transferring from the University of Texas and has played for them in seven starts this season in which she had four top ten finishes.
Tiger Woods given special exemption to play in U.S. Open at Pinehurst
Tiger Woods will play in next month's U.S. Open at Pinehurst after accepting a special exemption.
The 15-time major winner had been set to miss out on competing in the event for the first time in his professional career after failing to qualify.
However, Woods – whose five-year exemption for winning the Masters in 2019 has expired – has been given a special invitation by organisers.
"The U.S. Open, our national championship, is a truly special event for our game and one that has helped define my career," Woods said.
"I'm honoured to receive this exemption and could not be more excited for the opportunity to compete in this year's U.S. Open, especially at Pinehurst, a venue that means so much to the game."
Woods, ranked 789th in the world, has played just two tournaments this year as he continues to struggle with a leg injury sustained in a car accident three years ago.
The 48-year-old finished 60th in last month's Masters after making the cut for a 24th successive time.
Woods is a three-time winner of the US Open, most recently doing so in 2008, with this year's event beginning on June 13.
Young golfers perform well at trials for Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship
Jamaica's young golfers recently completed their three-day trials at the Caymanas Golf Club where they performed well under challenging conditions.
The trials were geared towards selecting the team for this year's Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship which will also be held at the Caymanas Golf Club in early July of this year.
Trey Williams led the boys while Mattea Issa led the girls with outstanding performances. Williams was the only golfer to post an under-par score with a two-under-par 70 on the final day.
Williams faced six competitors in the Boys 18 and Under category. He posted eight over par 80, four over par 76 and two under par 70 for the three days respectively, for a combined total of 10 over par 226 which is his best placement in a local competition to date.
"I feel really good about it. After the first day I was down by a good amount but I just kept my cool. I knew that I can play this course well and for the next two days I just made sure I played conservative and I gave it my all and it worked out" said Williams.
He now looks forward to the championships.
"Seeing how the championship is at this very course and I know I can play well at this course I am going to continue to practice, make sure that my game is at the top that it can be and give it my all when the championship comes and make sure that I can do well."
Aman Dhiman was second with scores of 72, 84 and 78 for a total score of 18 over par 234 while Ryan Lue was two strokes back on 236 (76, 83, 77).
Issa, with scores of 81, 80 and 81 (242), said that the trials conditions were difficult.
"To set the scene, the layout of the course was very difficult. Where they put the pins and where they put the tee boxes, they made the course as hard as possible for us kids to challenge us and then also the conditions of the course like the wind and the condition of the grass and the bunkers. That wasn't in the best condition so obviously it was unpredictable where the ball might go at certain times and the speed of the greens and things like that so you have to take that in consideration before analyzing the scores and analyzing the weekend."
The other female competitor in the Girls 18 and Under category was Anoushka Katri. She scored 107, 99 and 94 for a three-day total of 300.
Results in the other age groups were: Boys 15 and U - Kemari Morris - 256 (89, 81, 86), Davion Hogan 263 (85, 94, 84) and Cameron Coe 273 (92, 92, 89); Boys 13 and U - Shasa Redlefsen 245 (83, 82, 80) and Girls 13 and U - Alessandra Coe 266 (92, 88, 86).
The team, when announced will under-go intense preparation by coach Jonathan Newnham who was himself a successful junior golfer, and coach Jason Lopez who has guided several junior teams to the CAJGC.
Newnham was pleased with what he saw at the trials. "I feel good that everybody had enough good signs this week and we have a few months to prepare. We obviously will know the course very well by the time the champs come around so I am excited for this group and I think it's fair to say that within most if not all the categories we have a chance to do well individually, which if we do well individually that bodes well for the team championship as well."
Lopez on the other hand was happy with the mix of players at the trials. "We have a nice new crop of guys and girls who are coming up. A lot of young players and exciting players and obviously developing players and you have some guys like Trey (Williams) who have been around for a while. I think overall the kids performed well. I think the conditions were tough which is always good to see the kids tested. Today was not an easier day because there was a lack of wind but we know that come the championship time in July it’s gonna be very windy so it's nice to see those conditions replicated. I think the kids handled it very well."
According to Alison Reid, the convener for junior golf, the trials is "almost like a test run for the actual event because this is the course they are gonna play in the event and this is pressure condition because they are each trying to make the team so it’s like a mini tournament. It really puts them under the same amount of pressure."
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