January 30 - February 02
Royal Green G&CC, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
$3,500,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4
Victor Perez of France seized a one-shot lead over Malaysian Gavin Green to take top spot at the halfway point in the second Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers.
The Frenchman set the pace on a calm but overcast morning at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, carding his second five-under 65 in two days, allowing him to post a ten-under par, two-shot solo lead ahead of the dayโs afternoon pairings.
Green featured in the first of those, opening with a birdie on his way to a four-under 66, battling a strengthening afternoon wind. Northern Irelandโs McDowell, chasing his first European Tour win since 2014, carried on his first round momentum to finish two-under for the day (68), two off the lead at eight-under-par.
โIโm obviously very pleased with the second round,โ said 27-year-old leader, Perez, who captured his first European Tour at last yearโs Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. โI was able to play really well yesterday, and obviously coming out this morning, this is the round where you have to try to take as much advantage as you can and put some points on the board, and obviously Iโm in a very good position for tomorrow.โ
5 birdies in 9 holes 🔥@v_perez2 is off to a fast start at the #SaudiIntlGolf. pic.twitter.com/sCYVAJjUZS
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 31, 2020
Malaysiaโs Green, who sits on nine-under-par after two rounds, will partner Perez, his former college teammate, in the final group on Saturday. Having completed a 67 in round two he said: โI think I've done pretty well so far. I've got no complaints. I've been hitting it solid and putting the balls in the right position. It's a bit of a hit-and-miss, because the greens are so tricky out here, especially with the wind.
โI'm excited just to be in the mix. I've been there a couple times and just try to put myself in the position a couple more times and see what happens.โ
Greenโs tournament best 64 from the opening day was equalled by a resurgent Martin Kaymer, who went bogey free to propel himself from three-over to three-under, in what was the dayโs stand-out round.
โI feel really close with my game because I have a plan now,โ said the German. โI changed a few things over the winter with my driving because I was never happy with the way I drove the ball. It was straight, but it was never long enough to compete, really, on the big events. I'm very happy with the way I drive it right now.โ
Looking back on his round, McDowell said: โIt was tough to get going. A couple of birdies on the front were very pleasing and it was nice to hang in there coming in. It was really just a little bit colder with the putter today, and that was really the only difference between a great round yesterday and an average enough one today. It's all to play for 36 holes left and I feel like I'm playing well enough to compete and get the job done.โ
Swedenโs Henrik Stenson, defending champion Dustin Johnson (both -5), Phil Mickelson and Open winner Shane Lowry (both -4) remain in contention. US powerhouse Brooks Koepka will be hoping for a fast start at one-under par.
American world number 12, Patrick Reed (+3) and Lee Westwood (+3) were two of only a handful of big names to miss the cut.
After shooting the lowest round ever by a Saudi player in a European Tour event (+3), amateur Saud Alsharif โ said: โI am really pleased with today. I did my best out there and can now look forward to the rest of my season on the MENA (Middle East North Africa) Golf Tour. Iโve learnt so much this week, already especially on decision making. Thatโs the key at this level and all I really need to improve on.โ
With the business end of the golf getting underway tomorrow, the tournament is expecting its busiest day yet. The eventโs Entertainment Zone will be packed with interactive, family fun experiences, plus a delicious selection of food trucks and pop-ups over its remaining two days โ ensuring any visit guarantees โThe Ultimate Day Outโ.
Flamenco favourites the Gipsy Kings and Puerto Rican music sensation Luis Fonsi โ the man behind global megahit โDespacitoโ โ will take to the stage following on from Saturdayโs play.
Tickets for the Saudi Internationalโs final two days remain on sale, priced at 50 SAR per day. Exclusive concert tickets start at 75 SAR.
For more tournament information, visit www.saudiinternational.com
Pos. |
Player | Nat |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
Total |
1 |
Victor Perez | FRA |
-10 |
65 |
65 |
130 |
2 |
Gavin Green | MAS |
-9 |
64 |
67 |
131 |
3 |
Graeme McDowell | NIR |
-8 |
64 |
68 |
132 |
4 |
Renato Paratore | ITA |
-7 |
68 |
65 |
133 |
T5 |
Jazz Janewattananond | THA |
-6 |
68 |
66 |
134 |
T5 |
Ross Fisher | ENG |
-6 |
66 |
68 |
134 |
T5 |
Victor Dubuisson | FRA |
-6 |
69 |
65 |
134 |
T8 |
Dustin Johnson | USA |
-5 |
67 |
68 |
135 |
T8 |
Francesco Laporta | ITA |
-5 |
67 |
68 |
135 |
T8 |
Henrik Stenson | SWE |
-5 |
65 |
70 |
135 |
T8 |
Marcus Kinhult | SWE |
-5 |
67 |
68 |
135 |
T12 |
Jhonattan Vegas | VEN |
-4 |
65 |
71 |
136 |
T12 |
Justin Walters | RSA |
-4 |
71 |
65 |
136 |
T12 |
Phil Mickelson | USA |
-4 |
66 |
70 |
136 |
T12 |
Sean Crocker | USA |
-4 |
68 |
68 |
136 |
T12 |
Shane Lowry | IRL |
-4 |
69 |
67 |
136 |
T12 |
Soren Kjeldsen | DEN |
-4 |
67 |
69 |
136 |
T18 |
Aaron Rai | ENG |
-3 |
66 |
71 |
137 |
T18 |
Alexander Bjoerk | SWE |
-3 |
68 |
69 |
137 |
T18 |
Andy Sullivan | ENG |
-3 |
66 |
71 |
137 |
T18 |
Ashun Wu | CHI |
-3 |
71 |
66 |
137 |
T18 |
David Howell | ENG |
-3 |
68 |
69 |
137 |
T18 |
James Morrison | ENG |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T18 |
Jeff Winther | SWE |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T18 |
Martin Kaymer | GER |
-3 |
73 |
64 |
137 |
T18 |
Pablo Larrazabal | ESP |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T18 |
Richard McEvoy | ENG |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T18 |
Sebastian Garcia | ESP |
-3 |
67 |
70 |
137 |
T18 |
Sergio Garcia | ESP |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T18 |
Thomas Pieters | BEL |
-3 |
70 |
67 |
137 |
T31 |
Adrian Meronk | POL |
-2 |
68 |
70 |
138 |
T31 |
Nacho Elvira | ESP |
-2 |
72 |
66 |
138 |
T31 |
Jordan Smith | ENG |
-2 |
71 |
67 |
138 |
T31 |
Lucas Herbert | AUS |
-2 |
67 |
71 |
138 |
T31 |
Matt Wallace | ENG |
-2 |
70 |
68 |
138 |
T31 |
Nicolas Colsaerts | BEL |
-2 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T31 |
Sebastian Soederberg | SWE |
-2 |
65 |
73 |
138 |
T38 |
Abraham Ancer | USA |
-1 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T38 |
Adria Arnaus | ESP |
-1 |
65 |
74 |
139 |
T38 |
Alexander Levy | FRA |
-1 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T38 |
Brooks Koepka | USA |
-1 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T38 |
Dean Burmester | RSA |
-1 |
71 |
68 |
139 |
T38 |
Grant Forrest | SCO |
-1 |
73 |
66 |
139 |
T38 |
Haydn Porteous | RSA |
-1 |
72 |
67 |
139 |
T38 |
Joost Luiten | NED |
-1 |
67 |
72 |
139 |
T38 |
Lorenzo Gagli | ITA |
-1 |
73 |
66 |
139 |
T38 |
Matthieu Pavon | FRA |
-1 |
68 |
71 |
139 |
T38 |
Maverick Antcliff | AUS |
-1 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T38 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello | ESP |
-1 |
69 |
70 |
139 |
T38 |
Sebastian Heisele | GER |
-1 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T38 |
Thomas Detry | BEL |
-1 |
73 |
66 |
139 |
T52 |
Adrian Otaegui | ESP |
Par |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T52 |
Antoine Rozner | FRA |
Par |
72 |
68 |
140 |
T52 |
Ashley Chesters | ENG |
Par |
73 |
67 |
140 |
T52 |
Benjamin Hebert | FRA |
Par |
71 |
69 |
140 |
T52 |
Connor Syme | SCO |
Par |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T52 |
Edoardo Molinari | ITA |
Par |
71 |
69 |
140 |
T52 |
Fabrizio Zanotti | PAR |
Par |
68 |
72 |
140 |
T52 |
Ian Poulter | ENG |
Par |
72 |
68 |
140 |
T52 |
Jack Senior | ENG |
Par |
71 |
69 |
140 |
T52 |
Julien Guerrier | FRA |
Par |
75 |
65 |
140 |
T52 |
Kalle Samooja | FIN |
Par |
72 |
68 |
140 |
T52 |
Richie Ramsay | SCO |
Par |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T52 |
Scott Jamieson | SCO |
Par |
73 |
67 |
140 |
T65 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout | RSA |
1 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T65 |
Ernie Els | RSA |
1 |
72 |
69 |
141 |
T65 |
Gaganjeet Bhullar | IND |
1 |
74 |
67 |
141 |
T65 |
Haotong Li | CHN |
1 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T65 |
Justin Harding | RSA |
1 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T65 |
Masahiro Kawamura | JPN |
1 |
73 |
68 |
141 |
T65 |
Matthias Schwab | AUT |
1 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T65 |
Maximilian Kieffer | GER |
1 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T65 |
Nino Bertasio | ITA |
1 |
72 |
69 |
141 |
T65 |
Ryan Fox | NZL |
1 |
66 |
75 |
141 |
T65 |
Stephen Gallacher | SCO |
1 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T65 |
Steven Brown | ENG |
1 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
CUT |
Chris Paisley | ENG |
2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
CUT |
Cormac Sharvin | NIR |
2 |
75 |
67 |
142 |
CUT |
David Drysdale | SCO |
2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
CUT |
Joakim Lagergren | SWE |
2 |
75 |
67 |
142 |
CUT |
Matthew Jordan | ENG |
2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
CUT |
Mikko Korhonen | FIN |
2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
CUT |
Min-Woo Lee | AUS |
2 |
74 |
68 |
142 |
CUT |
Paul Waring | ENG |
2 |
72 |
70 |
142 |
CUT |
Sam Horsfield | ENG |
2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
CUT |
Scott Hend | AUS |
2 |
68 |
74 |
142 |
CUT |
Zander Lombard | RSA |
2 |
72 |
70 |
142 |
CUT |
Alvaro Quiros | ESP |
3 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
CUT |
Bernd Wiesberger | AUT |
3 |
75 |
68 |
143 |
CUT |
Darius van Driel | NED |
3 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
CUT |
Guido Migliozzi | ITA |
3 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
CUT |
Jamie Donaldson | WAL |
3 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
CUT |
Lee Westwood | ENG |
3 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
CUT |
Oliver Wilson | ENG |
3 |
75 |
68 |
143 |
CUT |
Patrick Reed | USA |
3 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
CUT |
Rasmus Hoejgaard | DEN |
3 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
CUT |
Richard Bland | ENG |
3 |
69 |
74 |
143 |
CUT |
Robert MacIntyre | SCO |
3 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
CUT |
Romain Langasque | FRA |
3 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
CUT |
Shubhankar Sharma | IND |
3 |
68 |
75 |
143 |
CUT |
Akshay Bhatia | USA |
4 |
72 |
72 |
144 |
CUT |
Andrea Pavan | ITA |
4 |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Calum Hill | SCO |
4 |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Erik Van Rooyen | RSA |
4 |
71 |
73 |
144 |
CUT |
Jack Singh-Brar | ENG |
4 |
70 |
74 |
144 |
CUT |
Jorge Campillo | ESP |
4 |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
Michael Lorenzo-Vera | FRA |
4 |
74 |
70 |
144 |
CUT |
Oliver Fisher | ENG |
4 |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
Tapio Pulkkanen | FIN |
4 |
73 |
71 |
144 |
CUT |
David Horsey | ENG |
5 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
CUT |
David Law | SCO |
5 |
75 |
70 |
145 |
CUT |
David Micheluzzi | AUS |
5 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
CUT |
Thomas Aiken | RSA |
5 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
CUT |
Tom Lewis | ENG |
5 |
66 |
79 |
145 |
CUT |
Jeung-Hun Wang | KOR |
6 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
CUT |
Joachim B. Hansen | DEN |
6 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
CUT |
Sebastian Crampton | USA |
6 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
CUT |
Benjamin Poke | DNK |
7 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
CUT |
Jamie Elson | ENG |
7 |
79 |
68 |
147 |
CUT |
Ricardo Santos | POR |
7 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
CUT |
Robert Rock | ENG |
7 |
71 |
76 |
147 |
CUT |
Ahmed Marjan | MOR |
8 |
75 |
73 |
148 |
CUT |
Matthew Southgate | ENG |
8 |
71 |
77 |
148 |
CUT |
Raphael Jacquelin | FRA |
9 |
70 |
79 |
149 |
CUT |
Wade Ormsby | AUS |
9 |
76 |
73 |
149 |
CUT |
Brandon Stone | RSA |
10 |
78 |
72 |
150 |
CUT |
Oliver Farr | WAL |
10 |
73 |
77 |
150 |
CUT |
Othman Al Mulla | KSA |
10 |
75 |
75 |
150 |
CUT |
Thomas Bjorn | DEN |
10 |
73 |
77 |
150 |
CUT |
Saud Al Sharif | KSA |
15 |
82 |
73 |
155 |
CUT |
Faisal Alsalhab | KSA |
26 |
82 |
84 |
166 |
RET |
Callum Shinkwin | ENG |
Par |
79 |
- |
79 |