Reed goes bogey-free to lead in Dubai as Sharma, Sandhu miss cut

Patrick Reed leaned on his comfort at the Majlis Course once again, firing a bogey-free 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as India’s challenge ended at the halfway mark.

Reed moved to 9-under, edging England’s Andy Sullivan (65) by one after a round that had one defining jolt: a 42-foot eagle putt on the 13th after he opened from the back nine. A birdie at 12 got him going, another at 17 kept the momentum, and he finished with a calm run of pars to close out a clean card.

Sullivan’s push was louder. He opened with four straight birdies from the third, turned in five under, then recovered from mid-round wobble with a birdie at 17 and a closing eagle to jump into second at 8-under.

For the Indians, it was a tough exit. Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, making his DP World Tour debut, posted 73-73 to miss the cut. Shubhankar Sharma, back on Tour after Q-School, followed his opening 74 with a 77 and also fell short in the $9 million Rolex Series event.

Behind the leaders, Mikael Lindberg stayed in the mix at 7-under, with Francesco Molinari and Andrea Pavan a shot further back. Nicolai Højgaard climbed into fifth with a bogey-free 67, while defending champion Tyrrell Hatton remained in touch as the weekend field tightened.

Photo – DPWT