Paul Lawrie slumps from 71 to 83 at Oman Open, misses cut Round Two Report Joachim B. Hansen and Maximilian Kieffer share the halfway lead on five under par at the Oman Open after the delayed second round was completed on Saturday afternoon. Kieffer was one of just 11 players who completed their second rounds on Friday before a sandstorm and high winds caused play to be suspended just before midday. The remainder of the field returned to Al Mouj Golf on Saturday to complete their rounds, with Hansen signing for a three under par round of 69 and a five under par total. Overnight leader Kurt Kitayama recorded a two over par round of 74 and shares third place on four under par with Gaganjeet Bhullar, winner of the 2018 Fiji International, Brandon Stone, who won his first Rolex Series title at the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, and two-time European Tour winner Fabrizio Zanotti. Seven players are two strokes further back on two under par, including 2014 Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson. The third round began at 15:20 local time, with the lead group teeing off at 17:10. Player Quotes Joachim B. Hansen: “I’m feeling pretty good. I was a bit disappointed with the finish, but it was so tough yesterday when the wind came. It changed so much and it was hard to hit good shots and keep the ball low. Three under is a good score with this wind. “The first 13 holes we played was a one to one and a half club wind, consistently. You could get around. We had a good stretch from the 16th to the fourth hole, but I had a bad shot on five and then the wind came.” Brandon Stone: “It’s very challenging out there, the wind is absolutely brutal. I thought it might have snuck a par on the last, I hit a really good second shot but it went in the trap. But to sign for a 70 today is something to be very proud of. “I’ve managed myself really well this week. Had a great strategy. Mikey and I said we were going to try and take over the golf course, just play it how Mr. Norman wanted it to be played. My first bogey came after we tried to push it and be too aggressive out there. We were very conservative off the tee, waited for holes where we’d be able to go for a flag. A par felt like a little victory, so to be four under after two rounds in these conditions is fantastic.” Gaganjeet Bhullar: “I’m very pleased. I started off really well yesterday. Considering the wind and the weather today I made two good birdies on two and three, but then I was unfortunate to drop two shots. Conditions were really tough today. The goal is to stay focused and relaxed and give 100 per cent at the weekend. “We were a little mentally prepared for this having looked at the forecast. We had an idea we might have to come back to finish. This isn’t for the first time. These conditions are, by far, the toughest I’ve ever played in.” Fabrizio Zanotti: “The conditions were really tough. In the morning it wasn’t that windy, it was getting stronger and stronger when we were playing. I’m playing consistently and hitting it well from tee to green. Hopefully over the weekend I can hole some more putts and have a chance on Sunday." Scores after round two: par 144 (2x72) 139 J Hansen (Den) 70 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 69 70 140 F Zanotti (Paraguay) 71 69, G Bhullar (India) 71 69, B Stone (SAf) 70 70, K Kitayama (USA) 66 74 142 H Tanihara (Jpn) 70 72, E Kofstad (Nor) 72 70, B Hebert (Fra) 70 72, V Dubuisson (Fra) 72 70, C Sordet (Fra) 71 71, H Leon (Chi) 71 71, G Moynihan (Irl) 69 73 143 T Detry (Bel) 70 73, T Pieters (Bel) 68 75, S Jamieson (Sco) 67 76, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 72, C Paisley (Eng) 71 72 144 D Horsey (Eng) 68 76, S Crocker (USA) 72 72, M Kawamura (Jpn) 73 71, M Schmitt (Ger) 71 73, A Saddier (Fra) 68 76, D Lawson (Aus) 72 72, S Soderberg (Swe) 72 72, P Hanson (Swe) 71 73 145 R MacIntyre (Sco) 71 74, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 75, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 75, M Southgate (Eng) 75 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 72 73 146 J Choi (SKor) 73 73, S Sharma (India) 72 74, O Wilson (Eng) 72 74, J Walters (SAf) 73 73, A Pavan (Ita) 71 75, B Dredge (Wales) 74 72, R McEvoy (Eng) 72 74, Y Miyazato (Jpn) 67 79, J Luiten (Netherlands) 69 77, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 72 74, D Drysdale (Sco) 70 76, G Migliozzi (Ita) 73 73, D Borda (Spn) 72 74, J Winther (Den) 73 73  147 R Langasque (Fra) 72 75, S Hend (Aus) 73 74, A Sullivan (Eng) 72 75, Z Lombard (SAf) 72 75, J Campillo (Spn) 69 78, R Jacquelin (Fra) 68 79, A Chesters (Eng) 73 74, J Smith (Eng) 71 76, A Wu (Chn) 76 71  148 A Arnaus (Spn) 70 78, C Bezuidenhout (SAf) 70 78, V Perez (Fra) 73 75, L De Jager (SAf) 71 77, S Vincent (Zimbabwe) 68 80, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 76, P Figueiredo (Por) 71 77, N Cullen (Aus) 72 76, J Wang (SKor) 77 71, M Manassero (Ita) 72 76, D Fichardt (SAf) 75 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 78, J Morrison (Eng) 72 76, J Catlin (USA) 76 72, J Van Zyl (RSA) 75 73, P Dunne (Ire) 74 74, T Aiken (SAf) 75 73 149 R Ramsay (Sco) 70 79, D Lipsky (USA) 72 77, C Syme (Sco) 70 79, S Brown (Eng) 72 77, L Herbert (Aus) 75 74, M Orrin (Eng) 78 71, J Harding (SAf) 74 75, R Rock (Eng) 70 79, L Gagli (Ita) 72 77, E Molinari (Ita) 72 77, M Lee (Australia) 71 78, 150 C Wood (Eng) 72 78, P Langfors (Swe) 75 75, R Karlsson (Swe) 72 78, P Waring (Eng) 73 77, K Reitan (Norway) 75 75, G Coetzee (SAf) 75 75, N Lemke (Swe) 72 78 151 A Cañizares (Spn) 68 83, L Johnston (Sco) 75 76, D Gavins (Eng) 73 78, N Elvira (Spn) 74 77, S Kim (USA) 72 79, 152 J Singh Brar (Eng) 77 75, B Wiesberger (Austria) 72 80, K Koivu (Finland) 74 78, R Paratore (Ita) 73 79, G Green (Malaysia) 75 77, D Burmester (SAf) 74 78, R Gouveia (Portugal) 74 78, P Larrazábal (Spn) 72 80, 153 T Pulkkanen (Finland) 74 79, M Pavon (Fra) 74 79, K Broberg (Swe) 75 78, B Ritthammer (Ger) 73 80, D Howell (Eng) 75 78, R Wattel (Fra) 73 80, K Samooja (Finland) 72 81, K Johannessen (Norway) 78 75, A Karlsson (Swe) 75 78, R Fisher (Eng) 74 79, J Kruyswijk (SAf) 72 81, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 81, G Forrest (Sco) 72 81 154 S Chawrasia (Ind) 77 77, D Law (Sco) 75 79, L Slattery (Eng) 79 75, M Warren (Sco) 77 77, P Lawrie (Sco) 71 83 155 S Brazel (Australia) 73 82, T Murray (Eng) 72 83, C Jin (Chn) 76 79 156 M Schwab (Austria) 74 82 157 T Bjørn (Den) 73 84, K Pratt (Aus) 76 81, B Evans (Eng) 74 83 158 A Quiros (Spn) 75 83, S Gregory (Eng) 77 81, J Dantorp (Swe) 79 79, O Fisher (Eng) 78 80, 161 H Park (SKor) 75 86, I Cantero Gutierrez (Spn) 75 86, M Kinhult (Swe) 79 82, M Burrow (am) (Eng) 77 84, 162 J Lagergren (Swe) 76 86, 164 A Al Rumhy (am) (Oma) 82 82, 168 O Al Mulla (Ksa) 83 85, ** A Levy (Fra) 68 RT, C Shinkwin (Eng) 75 RT, G Fdez-Castaño (Esp) 76 RT, H Porteous (RSA) 76 RT, M Siem (Ger) 76 RT, S Manley (Wal) DQ 0,                                                                          Ends

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