January 16-19
Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
$7,000,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4
A superb round from Francesco Laporta led the way as European golfers dominated the second day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
The Italian carded a remarkable round of 63 (-9) including a finish of five consecutive birdies to take a one-shot lead over a chasing pack boasting four other Europeans in the top six places.
Commenting on his clubhouse lead Laporta said: โIt was a great day. I played solid all 18 holes. My putting was solid as well as my driver and irons. I gave myself a lot of opportunity for birdies and made them when I had the chance. Every time I had a putt for birdie, I made it.โ
Close behind him in joint second, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished third in 2017 and is yet to make a bogey after the first two rounds, carded a fine score of 67 (โ5) while Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello maintained his first round form with a score of 68 (โ4).
What a finish Francesco Laporta!
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 17, 2020
The Italian leads into the weekend in Abu Dhabi.#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1qpUAWrR3S
Reflecting on another excellent round, Fitzpatrick added: โFor the first week of the year, to have no bogeys, I couldn't ask for a better start. I played really disciplined golf and it's worked out well so far.โ
The only non-European in the top six is Chinese star Haotong Li who is making his third consecutive appearance at the tournament. Li who has never made the cut, shot a composed 69 (-3) that included a flurry of birdies on the 15th, 16th, and 18th holes to sit one shot further back and is primed to make a charge heading into moving day at the 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
Fan favourite Lee Westwood continued his fine form to card a bogey-free 68 (-4) that puts himself in a strong position to make a bid to win an astonishing 25th European Tour event this weekend, a record that will leave him just five titles behind fellow Englishman Nick Faldo.
Teen sensation, 15-year old Josh Hill, who generated one of the stories of the week by beating World Number One Brooks Koepka in practice, produced another strong round to finish his tournament on a credible six-over par while Emirati local, Ahmed Skaik continued his development โ his highlight coming on the par four 6th where he made a picturesque birdie.
Reviewing his tournament Hill added: โItโs been a fun week and a brilliant experience. Iโve enjoyed being on the big stage but a little disappointed in my performance, but Iโve learned a lot. I love playing in Abu Dhabi where the course is perfect, the weather is amazing and the people are incredibly welcoming. I look forward to hopefully coming back many times into the future.โ
Discussing his 2020 tournament, Ahmed added: โThis has been a hugely enjoyable experience for me. It is very special to play in front of a home crowd and have the support of friends and family. I will remember this week for a long time.โ
Tickets for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA can be purchased here.
Pos. |
Player | Nat |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
Total |
1 |
Francesco Laporta | ITA |
-10 |
71 |
63 |
134 |
T2 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick | ENG |
-9 |
68 |
67 |
135 |
T2 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello | ESP |
-9 |
67 |
68 |
135 |
T4 |
Haotong Li | CHN |
-8 |
67 |
69 |
136 |
T4 |
Sergio Garcia | ESP |
-8 |
67 |
69 |
136 |
T4 |
Renato Paratore | ITA |
-8 |
64 |
72 |
136 |
T7 |
Kurt Kitayama | USA |
-7 |
67 |
70 |
137 |
T7 |
Lee Westwood | ENG |
-7 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T7 |
Patrick Cantlay | USA |
-7 |
71 |
66 |
137 |
T7 |
Louis Oosthuizen | RSA |
-7 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T7 |
Adria Arnaus | ESP |
-7 |
70 |
67 |
137 |
T12 |
Thomas Pieters | BEL |
-6 |
68 |
70 |
138 |
T12 |
David Law | SCO |
-6 |
70 |
68 |
138 |
T12 |
Joost Luiten | NED |
-6 |
70 |
68 |
138 |
T12 |
Bernd Wiesberger | AUT |
-6 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T12 |
Zander Lombard | RSA |
-6 |
67 |
71 |
138 |
T12 |
Lucas Herbert | AUS |
-6 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T18 |
Sebastian Soederberg | SWE |
-5 |
75 |
64 |
139 |
T18 |
Scott Hend | AUS |
-5 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T18 |
Zach Murray | AUS |
-5 |
67 |
72 |
139 |
T18 |
Nacho Elvira | ESP |
-5 |
72 |
67 |
139 |
T18 |
Thomas Detry | BEL |
-5 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T18 |
Yuxin Lin | CHN |
-5 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T24 |
Victor Perez | FRA |
-4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T24 |
Branden Grace | RSA |
-4 |
68 |
72 |
140 |
T24 |
Joakim Lagergren | SWE |
-4 |
75 |
65 |
140 |
T24 |
Matthias Schwab | AUT |
-4 |
74 |
66 |
140 |
T24 |
Richie Ramsay | SCO |
-4 |
71 |
69 |
140 |
T24 |
Jack Singh-Brar | ENG |
-4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T24 |
Soren Kjeldsen | DEN |
-4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T24 |
Andy Sullivan | ENG |
-4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T24 |
Jason Scrivener | AUS |
-4 |
66 |
74 |
140 |
T24 |
Haydn Porteous | RSA |
-4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T24 |
Masahiro Kawamura | JPN |
-4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T35 |
Shaun Norris | RSA |
-3 |
64 |
77 |
141 |
T35 |
Shubhankar Sharma | IND |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T35 |
Erik Van Rooyen | RSA |
-3 |
73 |
68 |
141 |
T35 |
Jack Senior | ENG |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T35 |
Edoardo Molinari | ITA |
-3 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T35 |
Ross Fisher | ENG |
-3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T35 |
Oliver Fisher | ENG |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T35 |
Brooks Koepka | USA |
-3 |
66 |
75 |
141 |
T35 |
Tommy Fleetwood | ENG |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T35 |
Martin Kaymer | GER |
-3 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T35 |
Nicolas Colsaerts | BEL |
-3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T35 |
Ashley Chesters | ENG |
-3 |
72 |
69 |
141 |
T35 |
Michael Lorenzo-Vera | FRA |
-3 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T35 |
Romain Langasque | FRA |
-3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T35 |
Matthieu Pavon | FRA |
-3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T35 |
David Drysdale | SCO |
-3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T51 |
David Lipsky | USA |
-2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
T51 |
Grant Forrest | SCO |
-2 |
74 |
68 |
142 |
T51 |
David Howell | ENG |
-2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
T51 |
Wade Ormsby | AUS |
-2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
T51 |
Justin Harding | RSA |
-2 |
69 |
73 |
142 |
T51 |
Paul Waring | ENG |
-2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
T51 |
Sam Horsfield | ENG |
-2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
T51 |
Thomas Bjorn | DEN |
-2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
T51 |
Sean Crocker | USA |
-2 |
72 |
70 |
142 |
T51 |
Jordan Smith | ENG |
-2 |
74 |
68 |
142 |
T61 |
Alexander Bjoerk | SWE |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T61 |
Matt Wallace | ENG |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T61 |
Kiradech Aphibarnrat | THA |
-1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
T61 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout | RSA |
-1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T61 |
Jorge Campillo | ESP |
-1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T61 |
Andrew Johnston | ENG |
-1 |
69 |
74 |
143 |
T61 |
Jeff Winther | SWE |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T61 |
Justin Walters | RSA |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T61 |
Scott Jamieson | SCO |
-1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T61 |
Gavin Green | MAS |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T61 |
Brandon Stone | RSA |
-1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T61 |
Sebastian Heisele | GER |
-1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
T61 |
Victor Dubuisson | FRA |
-1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
CUT |
Alexander Levy | FRA |
Par |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Calum Hill | SCO |
Par |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Chris Paisley | ENG |
Par |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
George Coetzee | RSA |
Par |
72 |
72 |
144 |
CUT |
Guido Migliozzi | ITA |
Par |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Lorenzo Gagli | ITA |
Par |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
Mikko Korhonen | FIN |
Par |
70 |
74 |
144 |
CUT |
Richard Bland | ENG |
Par |
69 |
75 |
144 |
CUT |
Richard Sterne | RSA |
Par |
74 |
70 |
144 |
CUT |
Robert Rock | ENG |
Par |
69 |
75 |
144 |
CUT |
Shane Lowry | IRL |
Par |
70 |
74 |
144 |
CUT |
Steven Brown | ENG |
Par |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
Thongchai Jaidee | THA |
Par |
70 |
74 |
144 |
CUT |
Viktor Hovland | NOR |
Par |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
Charl Schwartzel | RSA |
1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
CUT |
Raphael Jacquelin | FRA |
1 |
68 |
77 |
145 |
CUT |
Roope Kakko | FIN |
1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
CUT |
Ryan Fox | NZL |
1 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
CUT |
Adrian Otaegui | ESP |
2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
CUT |
Danny Willett | ENG |
2 |
71 |
75 |
146 |
CUT |
Dean Burmester | RSA |
2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
CUT |
Fabrizio Zanotti | PAR |
2 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
CUT |
James Morrison | ENG |
2 |
71 |
75 |
146 |
CUT |
Julien Guerrier | FRA |
2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
CUT |
Marcus Armitage | ENG |
2 |
77 |
69 |
146 |
CUT |
Matthew Southgate | ENG |
2 |
70 |
76 |
146 |
CUT |
Richard McEvoy | ENG |
2 |
71 |
75 |
146 |
CUT |
Stephen Gallacher | SCO |
2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
CUT |
Tapio Pulkkanen | FIN |
2 |
72 |
74 |
146 |
CUT |
Thomas Aiken | RSA |
2 |
76 |
70 |
146 |
CUT |
Tom Lewis | ENG |
2 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
CUT |
Adrian Meronk | POL |
3 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
CUT |
Eddie Pepperell | ENG |
3 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
CUT |
Ian Poulter | ENG |
3 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
CUT |
Jamie Donaldson | WAL |
3 |
75 |
72 |
147 |
CUT |
Jeung-Hun Wang | KOR |
3 |
71 |
76 |
147 |
CUT |
Nino Bertasio | ITA |
3 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
CUT |
Andrea Pavan | ITA |
4 |
74 |
74 |
148 |
CUT |
Pablo Larrazabal | ESP |
4 |
74 |
74 |
148 |
CUT |
Padraig Harrington | IRL |
4 |
76 |
72 |
148 |
CUT |
Bryson DeChambeau | USA |
5 |
72 |
77 |
149 |
CUT |
Rasmus Hoejgaard | DEN |
5 |
77 |
72 |
149 |
CUT |
Robert Karlsson | SWE |
5 |
77 |
72 |
149 |
CUT |
Alvaro Quiros | ESP |
6 |
77 |
73 |
150 |
CUT |
Benjamin Hebert | FRA |
6 |
77 |
73 |
150 |
CUT |
Callum Shinkwin | ENG |
6 |
74 |
76 |
150 |
CUT |
Joshua Hill | ENG |
6 |
74 |
76 |
150 |
CUT |
Maximilian Kieffer | GER |
6 |
76 |
74 |
150 |
CUT |
Ashun Wu | CHI |
7 |
77 |
74 |
151 |
CUT |
David Horsey | ENG |
7 |
75 |
76 |
151 |
CUT |
Aaron Rai | ENG |
8 |
78 |
74 |
152 |
CUT |
Paul Lawrie | SCO |
8 |
78 |
74 |
152 |
CUT |
Gaganjeet Bhullar | IND |
9 |
79 |
74 |
153 |
CUT |
Joachim B. Hansen | DEN |
9 |
80 |
73 |
153 |
CUT |
Kalle Samooja | FIN |
9 |
72 |
81 |
153 |
CUT |
Graeme Storm | ENG |
10 |
76 |
78 |
154 |
CUT |
Oliver Wilson | ENG |
13 |
76 |
81 |
157 |
CUT |
Chris Wood | ENG |
15 |
84 |
75 |
159 |
CUT |
Ahmed Skaik | UAE |
25 |
84 |
85 |
169 |