Marcus Armitage left it late as he birdied his final two holes to remain in control of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at the halfway stage.
Related: Armitage races to Ras Al Khaimah Championship lead
The Englishman, who opened with a blistering nine under par first round, followed that with a three under par effort to reach 12 under on day two and will go into the weekend with a two-stroke advantage over countryman Dan Brown and Spain’s Alejandro del Rey at Al Hamra Golf Club.
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Armitage birdied the third and fourth to overtake Brown and del Rey, who had set the target at ten under, but sandwiched another birdie with bogeys at the seventh and ninth.
The 37-year-old dropped another shot at the par four 12th but steadied himself with a pair of pars before launching an assault on the final few holes. The 2021 Porsche European Open champion converted from 23 feet on the par three 15th to return to double figures, before birdieing the final two holes for the second day in a row – and in style.
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After missing the green at the 17th, he chipped in for birdie from the greenside rough before the almost holing his third shot from 99 yards at the par five 18th, leaving the simplest of tap ins to secure a round of 69.
Brown’s eight under round of 64 was the best of the day and matched only by American Johannes Veerman who climbed 42 places to fourth in Ras Al Khaimah. Five players share fifth on seven under, including China’s Li Haotong and Dane Hamish Brown, who both posted seven under rounds of 65.
Englishman Daniel Gavins, the 2023 winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, made more great memories at Al Hamra Golf Club, carding the second hole in one of his career at the par three seventh hole.
Player quotes
Marcus Armitage: It was always going to be a tough day today, following up yesterday. I felt calm out there and when you know, I got rewarded for being patient at the end there. So yeah, really happy.
I just wanted to break 70 today. That was the little goal inside my head that I had and I achieved that at the last with the best shot of the day. Just really pleased and let’s see what the weekend brings.
