Qatar Masters: South Africa's Thomas Aiken defies weather-disrupted Qatar Masters for clubhouse lead
Thomas Aiken defies bad weather at Doha Golf Club to set the clubhouse target on day two of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters; Live coverage continues Saturday from 9.30am on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 27 October 2023 16:40, UK
Thomas Aiken leads the Qatar Masters after he set the clubhouse target on day two, as weather disruptions continued.
Aiken compiled scores of 69 and 65 on Friday to reach 10 under par at Doha Golf Club. Spain's Santiago Tarrio and New Zealand's Daniel Hillier were also 10 under with six and seven holes to play respectively, with Ryder Cup winner Robert MacIntyre, vice-captain Edoardo Molinari and defending champion Ewen Ferguson all on nine under.
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Round two is scheduled to resume at 6:30am local time on Saturday.
Despite the disruption, Aiken was happy with his performance, saying: "I played really solid today."
"We had 31 holes to play, so it was a long day and an early wake-up call.
"It's a course that I like, I've always played well here in the past. Unfortunately, with the rain yesterday, it got a little wet. Normally it plays firm and fast, which is what I like.
"Hopefully it dries up over the weekend and starts playing more like that. It's tough competing against these youngsters these days, they hit it so far.
Aiken, who has won three times on the DP World Tour but is currently ranked 824th in the world, added: "I haven't played that badly.
"I've been consistent, made a lot of cuts, but either I've had a really good ball-striking week and the putter hasn't quite been there, or I've had a good putting week and I'm just too far away from the hole.
"It's getting a little tougher to play in your forties, but I still feel like I can win out here. I just need the right golf course. Unfortunately I haven't been able to pick and choose my courses this year.
"I've played a lot of courses I would normally not play, but this is definitely one where I've always done well in the past."
John Catlin impresses
The best round of the day - and the week so far - came from American John Catlin, whose flawless 63 was an incredible 14-shot improvement on his opening 77 and kept his hopes of retaining his card alive.
"It was just one of those days where I found a little something before I went out and played," Catlin said.
"I was just sitting in the lounge thinking about stuff; haven't really played my best this year and was like, 'you know what? Let's try a little something'.
"I tried it on the putting green and all of a sudden the putts started going in and because they did I started to feel more confident with my irons... weird how golf is."
What's next?
Watch the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 9.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more with NOW.
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