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On a dramatic day in Doha where play was suspended for both sandstorms and thunderstorms, Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier has produced his own moments of sunshine.
Hillier has made a blistering start, shooting a seven-under 65 to be tied for the lead, with Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, at the Qatar Masters.
But an even bigger talking point than the rounds of Hillier and Jamieson was the weather at the Doha Golf Club.
A sandstorm that swept over the course caused a break in play early at the DP World Tour event and then at the other end of the day, 65 players were unable to complete their first round when a thunderstorm – that delivered a heavy deluge of rain – suspended play.
Hillier, who won the British Masters in July and is ranked 139th in the world, had a blemish-free round that featured five birdies and an eagle on the first hole, banked with a 14-foot putt.
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Daniel Hillier has overcome some wild conditions to hold a share of the lead at the Qatar Masters.
He will be back in action on Friday night (NZT) on a disjointed day due to the number of players still needing to finish their opening rounds.
Meanwhile, Lydia Ko remains within sight of the lead following her second round 71 at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia on Friday afternoon (NZT).
Backing up from her opening round 68, Ko made an action-packed start with three birdies and a bogey in her first four holes.
However, she was unable to capitalise on that fast begining at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, with a run of four pars and then a bogey on the par five ninth, to round out the front nine.
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Lydia Ko appears to have finally turned a corner later in her LPGA season.
Strong without being spectacular on the back nine, Ko was mistake-free with a run of nine straight pars to finish at five under following a one under second round.
Ko is seven shots behind outright leader Jasmine Suwannapura who shot a three under 69.
The overnight leader picked up two shots across her final three holes to storm back into the lead at the end of the second round.
Rose Zhang’s 68 has her in outright second at 11 under. Peiyun Chien ended her second round with a bogey to drop back to a three-way tie for third with Céline Boutier and Australian Hannah Green.
Ko’s solid first half of the Maybank Championship comes on the back of finishing third at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea last weekend – her first top-5 finish on the LPGA Tour season.
– with AP
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