England's Daniel Gavins climbed 35 places at Doha Golf Club to put himself in a group three shots off the lead heading into the weekend; Pablo Larrazabal saw his lead wiped out early on but recovered from a slow start to hold top spot
Friday 25 March 2022 17:29, UK
Daniel Gavins climbed into contention for a second DP World Tour title as Pablo Larrazabal recovered from a nightmare start to retain his lead in the Qatar Masters.
The Englishman climbed 35 places on the leaderboard thanks to a second round of 67 at Doha Golf Club, which included six birdies and a solitary bogey.
The highlight was a birdie from 48 feet on the par-three eighth, his penultimate hole of the day, and Gavins was delighted with his round.
"It was gathering pace as it got four or five feet from the hole and then it just rattled straight in the middle," Gavins, whose first win came at the ISPS Handa World Invitational last August, said.
"It was nice to see that drop. I played nice golf and it was nice to actually hole a few putts today so I'm very happy."
Gavins shares sixth place on six-under with compatriot Matthew Jordan, Scotland's Ewen Ferguson and Austria's Lukas Nemecz.
The 31-year-old heads into the weekend three shots behind Larrazabal, whose two-shot overnight lead was wiped out as he covered the front nine in 40, including a double-bogey seven on the ninth.
The Spaniard immediately made amends with an eagle on the 10th and picked up three more shots to add a 71 to his opening 64 for a halfway total of nine under par.
"Mentally, you have to recover," Larrazabal said on his turnaround. "You have to believe in the shots you plan...that's what I did, and it paid off."
Poland's Adrian Meronk, South Africa's Wilco Nienaber and American Chase Hanna share second place on eight under, with France's Romain Langasque a shot further back.
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