REPORT AND SCORES FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

RAFA RACES TWO CLEAR IN QATAR 

Rafa Cabrera-Bello raced into the halfway lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after a fine second round of seven under par 65 saw the Spaniard move to a 13 under total and establish a two-stroke advantage over South Africa’s George Coetzee.

Cabrera-Bello, a native of the Canary Islands, feels very much at home surrounded by palm trees and warm air on The European Tour’s desert swing and he hopes those comforting vibes can help him add the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters crown to the Dubai Desert Classic title he won in 2012. 

“I'm really happy, really pleased, and everything's going good so I'm enjoying myself,” said Cabrera-Bello.

“Playing in the desert at this time of year definitely feels like home.  I like playing in short sleeves a lot, I like a little bit of breeze, I like seeing palm trees and I like seeing sun around the courses.  It does remind me a lot of the Canaries, and it's kind of like I haven’t left home, so that's why I enjoy it so much.” 

South African native Coetzee is another player who prefers to play with the sun on his back. His three under 69 round the Doha Golf Club took him to second place – the same position he finished the tournament last year, alongside Sergio Garcia, one stroke behind eventual champion Chris Wood.

Garcia posted a fine 67 to make a move up the second round leaderboard on Thursday afternoon, but he will have to at least maintain that form if he is to have any chance of making up the seven shot deficit that Cabrera-Bello holds over him. 

Lying in a tie for third place on ten under, the English duo of Matt Baldwin and Steve Webster, along with Sweden’s Johan Carlsson, are better placed to mount a challenge on the leader going into the final two rounds.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

131 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 66 65

133 G Coetzee (RSA) 64 69

134 J Carlsson (Swe) 69 65, M Baldwin (Eng) 68 66, S Webster (Eng) 65 69

135 T Lewis (Eng) 68 67, M Ilonen  (Fin) 68 67, R Wattel  (Fra) 67 68, T Aiken (RSA) 67 68

136 A Wall (Eng) 70 66, B Grace  (RSA) 67 69, F Calmels  (Fra) 66 70, A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 68, P Hanson (Swe) 69 67, J Daly (USA) 67 69

137 K Broberg (Swe) 69 68, T Olesen (Den) 68 69, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 68, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 70, S Dyson  (Eng) 68 69, P Lawrie (Sco) 67 70, D Van Der Walt (RSA) 65 72,

138 M Hoey  (Nir) 68 70, R Fisher (Eng) 66 72, S Thornton (Irl) 70 68, F Zanotti (Par) 69 69, S Garcia  (Esp) 71 67

139 H Stenson (Swe) 68 71, N Elvira  (Esp) 66 73, J Olazábal (Esp) 69 70, R Bland (Eng) 69 70, G Stal  (Fra) 69 70, S Manley (Wal) 69 70, S Kapur (Ind) 68 71, P Uihlein  (USA) 70 69, S Benson (Eng) 68 71, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 70, C Lee (Sco) 72 67

140 M Kaymer (Ger) 70 70, M Carlsson  (Swe) 69 71, T Hatton (Eng) 69 71, C Del Moral (Esp) 72 68, B Koepka  (USA) 70 70, D Foos (am) (Ger) 70 70

141 J Morrison  (Eng) 68 73, R Santos  (Por) 72 69, J Dufner (USA) 70 71, A Quiros  (Esp) 69 72, A Saddier (Fra) 70 71, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 71, L Donald  (Eng) 72 69, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 70, R Rock (Eng) 70 71, S Kjeldsen (Den) 70 71, C Doak (Sco) 69 72, T Jaidee (Tha) 68 73

142 R Derksen (Ned) 70 72, J Lima  (Por) 72 70, M Fraser (Aus) 74 68, J Singh (Ind) 71 71, W Ormsby (Aus) 72 70, M Siem  (Ger) 69 73, H Otto (RSA) 71 71, E Grillo (Arg) 72 70

143 L Slattery (Eng) 73 70, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 74, C Wood  (Eng) 73 70, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 73 70, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 72, D Willett  (Eng) 71 72, M Foster (Eng) 72 71, S Hansen (Den) 73 70, P McGinley (Irl) 73 70, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 73, E Els (RSA) 67 76, V Riu  (Fra) 73 70

144 M Jiménez (Esp) 71 73, D McGrane (Irl) 70 74, R Sterne  (RSA) 74 70, J Walters (RSA) 71 73, P Waring  (Eng) 74 70, D Howell (Eng) 73 71, G Mulroy (RSA) 72 72, S Kim (SKor) 73 71, B Rumford (Aus) 73 71, S Lowry  (Irl) 76 68 
MISSED THE CUT

145 T Björn (Den) 74 71, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 73, P Whiteford (Sco) 72 73, D Huizing (Ned) 73 72, R Green (Aus) 74 71, E De La Riva  (Esp) 73 72, G Storm  (Eng) 74 71, J McLeary  (Sco) 74 71, E Molinari  (Ita) 74 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 73 72

146 M Warren (Sco) 70 76, A Otaegui  (Esp) 72 74, R Finch  (Eng) 75 71, J Campillo (Esp) 74 72, B Stone (RSA) 76 70, R Jacquelin (Fra) 72 74,

147 G Havret  (Fra) 70 77, P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 76, A Levy (Fra) 79 68, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 71 76, J Dantorp (Swe) 79 68, J Jeong (SKor) 73 74, A Pavan (Ita) 72 75

148 A Sullivan (Eng) 71 77, A Al Kaabi (am) (Qat) 78 70

149 N Fasth (Swe) 79 70, M Madsen  (Den) 74 75, J Parry (Eng) 69 80, M Williams (am) (Eng) 74 75

150 J Hahn (USA) 74 76, G Maybin (Nir) 74 76

151 R Kakko  (Fin) 73 78, M Nixon (Eng) 76 75

152 J Kruger (RSA) 72 80

153 T Levet (Fra) 80 73, C Arendell (USA) 76 77,

156 J Hansen  (Den) 79 77, P Lawrie (Irl) 80 76,

157 A Al-Shahrani (am) (Qat) 73 84

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS