Golf

Sharvin and Caldwell miss the cut at Al Hamra as Fox extends lead

South African Oliver Bekker breaks the course record with a second round of 62

Ryan Fox remains atop the leaderboard at Al Hamra golf club. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Fri Feb 11 2022 - 17:13

Both Jonathan Caldwell and Cormac Sharvin missed the cut at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic with both Northern Irish golfers ending their recond rounds on level par for the tournament.

Their efforts were not enough with the final cut at the Al Hamra Golf Club being set at three under.

Caldwell picked up four shots on the front nine only to lose them after the turn with two bogeys and a double, ensuring he carded for a second consecutive 72.

Sharvin fared one stroke better than his effort of one-over yesterday, albeit it was not enough to ensure his participation into the weekend.

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New Zealand’s Ryan Fox extended his lead atop the leaderboard, despite seeing his share of the course record last just 24 hours.

Fox added a second round of 69 to his opening 63 at Al Hamra Golf Club to post a halfway total of 12 under par, three shots clear of a six-strong chasing pack.

Included in that pack was South Africa’s Oliver Bekker, who set a new course record with a stunning 62 which featured an eagle, nine birdies and a solitary bogey.

Fox, who made six birdies and three bogeys in his 69, said: “It was a bit scrappier than yesterday, I didn’t drive it quite as well.

“It was a little sloppy hitting it in the water on the last, that doesn’t help, but I hit my irons really good and gave myself plenty of chances.

“I made six birdies today so hopefully I can just keep it going the next couple of days, but it’s been a lot of fun out there.”

Bekker looked set for a battle to make the cut following an opening 73, but surged through the field at a venue where he finished tied ninth last week in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

“After yesterday’s start I knew I had to go low today so I kind of had nothing to lose,” the 37-year-old said. “Then I left one short from 12 feet on my first hole (the 10th) and I thought, ‘Oh my word, you need to get it going’.

“Then I managed to make a nice putt on 12 for birdie, then on 13 I made birdie and another nice putt for eagle on 14 and that really got me going. From there I just kept the momentum.

“I just need to keep on doing what I’ve been doing. Last week I had a good chance of finishing top three probably and just fell away in the final round.”

Alongside Bekker on nine under par are fellow South Africans Justin Harding and Zander Lombard, along with Italy’s Francesco Laporta, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Connor Syme are four shots off the lead on eight under.

Ras Al Khaimah Collated Collated second round scores & totals in the DP World Tour The Ras Al Khaimah Classic Al Hamra GC, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72):

132 Ryan Fox (Nzl) 63 69

135 Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 67, Justin Harding (Rsa) 68 67, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 66 69, Francesco Laporta (Ita) 66 69, Oliver Bekker (Rsa) 73 62, Zander Lombard (Rsa) 72 63

136 Shergo Al Kurdi (Jor) 68 68, Robert MacIntyre 66 70, Alexander Bjoerk (Swe) 67 69, Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) 68 68, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 68 68, Connor Syme 69 67

137 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den) 69 68, Richard Bland 66 71, Sebastian Soederberg (Swe) 66 71, Laurie Canter 69 68, Adria Arnaus (Spa) 70 67, Tapio Pulkkanen (Fin) 70 67, Adrian Otaegui (Spa) 69 68, Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) 67 70, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 69 68, Maverick Antcliff (Aus) 67 70, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 68 69, David Drysdale 66 71, Yannik Paul (Ger) 66 71, Hurly Long (Ger) 67 70, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 68, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 70 67,

138 Sami Valimaki (Fin) 73 65, Daniel van Tonder (Rsa) 70 68, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 71 67, Matthieu Pavon (Fra) 68 70, Joost Luiten (Ned) 66 72, David Law 69 69, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 68, Scott Jamieson 72 66, Marcus Helligkilde (Den) 72 66, Lukas Nemecz (Aut) 69 69, Andrew Wilson 66 72,

139 Marcus Armitage 67 72, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 67 72, Adrian Meronk (Pol) 71 68, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 71 68, Fabrizio Zanotti (Pry) 72 67, Richie Ramsay 69 70, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 71 68, Justin Walters (Rsa) 68 71, Ross Fisher 70 69, Espen Kofstad (Nor) 71 68, Craig Howie 67 72, Oliver Farr 67 72,

140 Brandon Stone (Rsa) 67 73, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 71 69, Haotong Li (Chn) 69 71, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa) 72 68, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe) 69 71, Hugo Leon (Chi) 69 71, Thomas Detry (Bel) 70 70, Wil Besseling (Ned) 70 70, Darius van Driel (Ned) 71 69, Frederic Lacroix (Fra) 73 67, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 69, Niklas Noergaard Moeller (Den) 69 71,

141 Marcus Kinhult (Swe) 70 71, Ashun Wu (Chn) 70 71, James Morrison 69 72, Jordan Smith 72 69, Matthew Jordan 69 72, Nino Bertasio (Ita) 72 69, Callum Shinkwin 72 69, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 69 72, Robert Rock 69 72, Daan Huizing (Ned) 71 70, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 70 71, Oliver Fisher 72 69,

142 Thorbjoern Olesen (Den) 72 70, Rafael Cabrera (Spa) 69 73, Andrea Pavan (Ita) 72 70, Grant Forrest 75 67, John Catlin (USA) 74 68, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 73 69, Jamie Donaldson 70 72, Romain Langasque (Fra) 76 66, Nicolai von Dellingshausen (Ger) 71 71, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 73 69, Chase Hanna (USA) 73 69, Richard McEvoy 69 73,

143 Kalle Samooja (Fin) 73 70, Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 73 70, Ricardo Gouveia (Por) 65 78, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 71, Ricardo Santos (Por) 72 71, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 74 69

144 Scott Hend (Aus) 67 77, Jeff Winther (Den) 74 70, Jonathan Caldwell 72 72, David Howell 72 72, Marcel Schneider (Ger) 73 71, Ross McGowan 70 74, Cormac Sharvin 73 71, Gavin Green (Mal) 71 73

145 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den) 71 74, Joachim B. Hansen (Den) 69 76, Daniel Gavins 70 75, Arjun Gupta (Ind) 72 73, Dale Whitnell 73 72, Matthias Schmid (Ger) 72 73, Soeren Kjeldsen (Den) 73 72, Santiago Tarrio (Spa) 70 75, Julien Brun (Fra) 69 76, Ashley Chesters 73 72, Renato Paratore (Ita) 71 74, Eddie Pepperell 71 74,

146 Steven Brown 74 72, Marc Warren 73 73, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 73 73, Chris Paisley 72 74

147 Ignacio Elvira (Spa) 71 76, Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 73 74, Andy Sullivan 70 77, Oliver Wilson 73 74

148 Jack Singh-Brar 75 73, Robin Roussel (Fra) 71 77

149 Craig Vance 73 76

150 Matthew Southgate 72 78

151 Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 71 80, Sebastian Garcia (Spa) 72 79

153 Ahmed Skaik UAE 74 79

154 Ewen Ferguson 76 78

155 Issa Abou El Ela (Egy) 84 71