Patrick Reed leads at the halfway point of the Qatar Masters after shooting 67 to overhaul Joakim Lagergren’s eventful round with Pádraig Harrington doing enough to stick around for the weekend.
Lagergren and his hulking caddie Jesse Karlsson were forced to improvise on the second hole, shifting a number of huge boulders to allow the Swede to play his second shot and save par.
That kick-started a bogey-free round of 66, with his closing eagle taking him to 11-under par.
He held the lead until late in the day when Reed birdied three of the last five holes to reach 12-under.
Daniel Hillier and Richard Sterne were a shot further back at 10-under, with Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson and England’s Matt Wallace reaching nine-under to share fifth place with Spaniard Angel Ayora.
LEADERBOARD
A birdie at the last saw Harrington finish with a 70 in a somewhat up-and-down round.
The three-time major winner had early birdies on three and four before dropping a shot on eight.
Turning for home, Harrington picked up shots on 10 and 11 but successive bogeys followed and there was another dropped shot on 15.
The 54-year-old responded with a birdie at the next ahead of a four at the par-five last on his way to a round of 70, leaving him at three-under par.