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Khaleej Times
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Haotong Li surges clear in Qatar Masters on DP World Tour
Haotong Li moved into a two-shot lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters with a third-round 67. The three-time DP World Tour winner from China—including the 2018 HERO Dubai Desert Classic—advanced to 13 under at Doha Golf Club, overtaking halfway leader Brandon Robinson Thompson. A one-under 71 saw Robinson Thompson move to 11 under, securing second place and a spot in the final group on Sunday. England's Matthew Jordan and South Africa's Jayden Schaper share third place at nine under after rounds of 67 and 69, respectively. Haotong wasted no time erasing Robinson Thompson's two-shot overnight advantage, birdieing the first hole after a superb second shot into the par five. He added another birdie at the second from five feet. England's Robinson Thompson played a steady round, with his only deviation from par in the first 15 holes being a bogey at the sixth. Haotong took the outright lead with a birdie from three feet at the seventh. Both contenders produced a string of pars up to the 15th before capitalizing on the driveable 16th, where Robinson Thompson recorded his first birdie of the day. Haotong looked poised to extend his lead further when he rolled in a 15-footer at the 17th, but Robinson Thompson responded by getting up and down from the back of the 18th green to keep the gap at two shots. Earlier, Jordan charged up the leaderboard with five consecutive birdies from the 12th. Although he dropped a shot after three-putting the 17th, he made amends by sinking a huge 56-foot birdie putt on the last hole. Schaper also finished strongly, with three birdies in his last four holes to secure a share of third place. Joshua Grenville-Wood, representing the UAE, is tied for 33rd at three under par after rounds of 70, 73, and 70 (213 total). The final round will be played tomorrow (Sunday), with tee times starting at 6:30 a.m. in two-balls, all from tee one. The leaders will tee off last at 12:05 p.m. For LIVE final-round scoring, visit:
Khaleej Times
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Robinson-Thompson sets the pace with two-shot lead in Qatar on DP World Tour
Brandon Robinson Thompson will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after reaching ten under par after the second round at Doha Golf Club. The Englishman, who graduated from the Hotel Planner Tour after finishing 18th on last year's Road to Mallorca Rankings, carded a four under par second round of 68 to reach double figures. The 32 year-old carded two birdies and an eagle in his bogey-free effort and he holds the halfway lead for the first time in his DP World Tour career. Two shots behind are the Chinese pair of Ding Wenyi and Li Haotong who both carded five under par rounds of 67 to move to eight under. They are joined in a share of second place by MK Kim of South Korea. Kim is the youngest winner in HotelPlanner Tour history after claiming the D+D REAL Czech Challenge title in 2018 at the age of 17. In a share of fifth are last year's Hero Indian Open winner Keita Nakajima of Japan and Englishman Dan Brown on seven under. History was made this week as Jean Bekirian became the first Armenian representative to make the cut at a DP World Tour event, carding a two over par 74 to finish the day in a share of 34th place on two under. Brandon Robinson Thompson told the media on completing his round: "A great morning. It was tough, actually. The wind was ripping early. I thought the pins were quite tricky, so it was a lot of discipline. "I hit a lot of shots to 30-40 feet and took my two putts and tried to take advantage of holes I could give myself chances on. Snuck one in on 16, hit driver to three or four feet. "Happy with how I stayed patient and it's good to finish bogey free," he added. "I've been here so many times. I used to come here every year for about five or six years. I've played this course 50 or 60 times. I'm so comfortable out here. "There isn't a shot that I probably haven't seen already and I have a bit of support out here. I've had a lot of friends I've met who have come out and support me. It's like a home game for me and that's where the confidence and comfort comes from." The cut fell at one under par 143 with 66 players progressing to the weekend. The UAE's Joshua Grenville-Wood made the cut on one under par in tied 52nd with rounds of 70 and 73 to be on the cut mark. Leading Round 2 Scores B. Robinson-Thompson (Eng) 66. 68. 134. M. Kim (Kor) 69. 67. 136. W. Ding (China) 69. 67. 136. H. Li (China) 69. 67, 136. D. Brown (Eng) 69. 68. 137. K. Nakajima (Japan) 69. 68. 137.
Khaleej Times
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Rasmus and Brandon tied for the lead in Qatar Masters on DP World Tour
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen shares the first-round lead with Brandon Robinson Thompson at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after recovering from an opening bogey to post a sensational 66 on Thursday. Meanwhile, thirteen-year-old Daniil Sokolov, a Russian national representing Qatar, carded a 3-over 75 in just his second European Tour event;. After starting strong at 2-under through four holes, he stumbled with four bogeys and a double bogey, dropping to a tie for 105th when play was suspended at Doha Golf Club with 12 players yet to finish. Rasmus, the 25-year-old Dane has made a bright start to the new campaign following a stunning 2024 in which he won three times on the HotelPlanner Tour to earn automatic promotion to the DP World Tour. And despite an early blip in windy conditions at Doha Golf Club, where he dropped a shot at the first hole after missing his 14-foot par putt, Neergaard-Petersen continued his fine recent form as he made seven birdies and no bogeys over the next 17 holes to set the early clubhouse target at six under par. Englishman Robinson Thompson then caught Neergaard-Petersen at the summit late in the afternoon after draining his 60-foot birdie putt on the eighth - his penultimate hole. Robinson Thompson, who smashed the course record as he opened with a 61 in Bahrain last week, had a chance to hold the outright first-round lead for the second week in a row but was unable to make his birdie putt from ten feet on the ninth and had to settle for a share. Italy's Andrea Pavan and England's Sam Bairstow were in a tie for third one shot behind the co-leaders after shooting 67's. Frenchman Pierre Pineau and Armenia's Jean Bekirian were another shot back with two holes still to complete when play was suspended at 17:12 local time due to darkness. They will return early in the morning when round one restarts at 07:00. Neergaard-Petersen began the tournament with a bogey but bounced back immediately at the second, holing from eight feet for a birdie. He repeated the trick at the fourth from a similar distance before picking up further shots on the seventh and ninth as he reached the turn in 33. Neergaard-Petersen then made it back-to-back birdies from tap-in range at the tenth to get to four under. A 30-foot birdie followed on the 13th before another gain at the 14th took Neergaard-Petersen to six under. He said, 'I'm extremely pleased, even after the bogey at the first. To bounce back like that was huge. 'I felt really good into the greens today and was able to roll in some putts. It was a lovely day. 'I made a conscious effort this week to try and start fast. I told my caddie, Brian, going into this week that was the main goal, get off to a good start, be under par through six and take it from there." Robinson Thompson started from the tenth tee on Thursday and mixed four birdies with one bogey on his way to the turn. After making a ten-foot birdie on the par-five first, he had to wait until the seventh for his next gain before going back-to-back from long range at the eighth. Three good shots into the long ninth set up a decent birdie chance at his last hole but Robinson Thompson was unable to convert and had to make do with a closing par. He said, 'Just a lot of good stuff out there today. Tricky conditions with the wind, but first and foremost the golf course is in unbelievable condition. The guys at Doha Golf Club have done such a good job. I just took advantage of opportunities that came my way. 'The first round is always important, it can get you in the tournament, you can relax and build on it. This is almost like a home game for me. I've been here so many times and I'm so comfortable here. 'I had some people out watching as well. It's just fun to be here. I'm comfortable on the golf course. I'm staying with a really good friend of mine. With the course being as good as I've ever seen it, it's exciting to play, because I know the course, and it's awesome. 'I just love golf. Full stop. I love competing. I'm so happy to be out here on the DP World Tour. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and I'm living the dream.'
