Aaron Rai joins Tommy Fleetwood at the top

Aaron Rai signed for a bogey-free, 8-under 64 to move into a share of the lead at 14-under at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“It was really good. Struck it really well tee-to-green. Had a lot of chances. Just felt very stress-free overall,” said Rai.

The highlight of his round was an albatross at the par-5 2nd where he holed his approach shot from 218 yards with a six iron.

“I think we had about 185 yards to the front. The wind was a little bit down off the left and that green is so fast, and slopes front-to-back, that anything pitching a few yards onto the green always gets down to the bottom.

“I actually caught it a little bit clean off the face, the line was great. I think it probably pitched around the front edge and chased its way down there. We couldn’t see it from back on the fairway, so it was a nice surprise.”

Fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood started the day tied at the top of the leaderboard and made one bogey to close with a 66 and retain a share of the lead.

“Really good day. I got off to the perfect start. Birdie, birdie, birdie,” said Fleetwood. “That was good, especially when you’ve had a good round the day before. They always say it’s hard to follow up a good round with another good one, or a low one with another one.

“Starting well was really important. I just did a really good job. I hit a lot of good shots but a few times today I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well.

“I felt like we did a great job of controlling the ball out of the rough, and that was really pleasing. I feel like I putted solid again. Six under was a very good score.”

South Africa’s Richard Sterne was part of the overnight tie for the lead and made one bogey for a 68 and a share of third place at 12-under.

England’s Andy Sullivan bogeyed the final hole and closed with a 67 for a share of third place while Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard made two bogeys to join him.

Of the other overnight leaders, Ireland’s Shane Lowry moved down into sixth place having made an eagle at the par-5 11th as well as two bogeys and a double bogey at the par-4 14th for a 69 while France’s Adrien Saddier and New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori both signed for 73s to move down into T24 at 7-under.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy carded a second 68 having made two bogeys and lies in T20 at 8-under.

Related: Journey to Pro: Aaron Rai

Where does Aaron Rai's golfing panache stem from? Why is it that he uses two gloves and headcovers for his irons? Golf Today goes back to where it all started for the Wolverhampton man, winning his first tournament at just 4 years old.

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