Shepherd makes move with classy round of 67 at Dubai Open

Sport360 staff 08:09 30/09/2015
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  • In with a chance: Jake Shepherd.

    Gary King and Per Barth shot back-to-back four-under par rounds of 68 to catch up with overnight leader Paul Doherty of Scotland after the second round of the MENA Golf Tour’s Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open at Al Badia Golf Club on Tuesday.

    England’s King, the winner of last week’s event in Abu Dhabi, put himself in contention for back-to-back victories with a round that included four birdies and an eagle (on the 18th) and two bogeys.

    Sweden’s Barth lit up the back nine with five birdies after making the turn at one-over to join Doherty, who settled for a level-par 72, at eight-under par.

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    The leading trio were three shots ahead of the English duo of Jake Shepherd and Luke Joy and Spain’s Xavier Puig, who were tied for  fourth place on five-under par.

    But the biggest cheers of the day were reserved for Morocco’s Mehdi Saissi, who displayed his best stuff on the Tour, carding a fine four-under par 68 that took him to tied seventh place at four-under par.

    A double-bogey on the par-4 sixth and a further dropped shot on the par-3 seventh prevented Doherty from making any further gains, although he played the back nine in two-under.

    It was Shepherd who made the biggest charge, turning in the best score of the day to firmly put himself in contention for another strong finish.

    “It was a good round, but nothing spectacular about it. My ball striking was average, but I putted great, which held it together,” said Shepherd, who boasts a first and tied fourth finish in his last two outings on the MENA Tour.

    “I feel like I’m in great position and if everything falls into place in the final round, I think I stand a good chance (of winning),” added the Englishman whose second round was highlighted by four birdies in a row from the fifth.

    With four shots separating the top 10, it could lead to a thrilling finish coming down the home stretch in the final round today and Saissi sounded confident of racking in a top-five finish.

    The 24-year-old prodigy started with a chip-in birdie from 40 yards and also finished in style, tapping in for birdie after his eagle putt from 15 feet agonisingly lipped out.

    “It was kind of an up-and-down round, but I holed some good putts, especially the one on the ninth from 20 feet. But the highlight was certainly that chip-in on the first after I drove into the fairway bunker,” he said.

    “The confidence is back and it’s just a question of holing a few more putts. If I can do that, I stand a good chance of finishing among the top five, which is the goal.”

    England’s Alex Wills backed up his opening level-par 72 with a 71 to lead the amateur division as favourites Rayhan Thomas of India (two-over) and James Allan (five-over) slipped down the leaderboard.

    England’s Joshua White, the 2014 MENA champion, carded a level-par 72 to stay at one-under while Morocco’s Faycal Serghini, a three-time runner-up on the MENA Golf Tour, settled for a 75. Regular contender Zane Scotland stayed in the mix with back-to-back 70s.

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