…. Emirates GC, Dubai
Patrick Reed may consider turning left-handed after he borrowed Robert MacIntyre’s putter to hole a lengthy putt just minutes after the Texan’s second round at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai.
Reed struggled with the putter as reflectred in a score of 70, picking-up three birdies in a five-hole stretch from his eighth to 13th holes ahead of a 15th hole bogey in a score of 70 for his eight-under tally on the Emirates course.
Then as the Texan made his way to the player’s lounge via the practice putting green he passed by the left-handed MacIntyre who was working on his putting straight after his round of 69 to be five-under.
Reed and MacIntyre have got on well since they played an Augusta National practice round together ahead of the Scot’s Masters debut in 2021.
And in grabbing MacIntyre’s putter, Reed proceeded to hole a 15-footer.
Reed was smiling in saying: “There you go! I couldn’t buy a putt all day. Thanks, Bob”.
The big question was whether Reed and Rory McIlroy will go out together on day three of this $US 9m event given they each posted rounds of 66 and 70 to be tied in seventh place on eight-under after 36-holes but with Tour officials releasing the third round draw and the pair to tee-off 10 minutes apart.
Three players lead the way – England’s Richard Bland (67), Belgium’s Thomas Pieters (67) and 21-year-old American amateur Michael Thorbjornsen (64).
Fifer Conor Syme is the best of the Scots with scores of 68 & 67 to be sharing fourth at nine under.
After three straight 5amish (local time) wake-up calls Scot Calum Hill earned himself a sleep-in after posting a sizzling second round 67 to be sharing 15th place, and assured a first pay cheque of the new DP World Tour season.
The Gleneagles attached Hill capped his round with a hat-trick of birdies from the 10th hole but the pick of the five said Hill was his birdie at the par-4 sixth hole.
Hill said: “It’s always great to birdie any hole but I was really pleased with the birdie on six.
“I hit a nice drive and it just ran through the fairway into the first cut and I had 192-yards to the pin, so I chose a 6-iron.
“It was cold and a bit windy at that early time of the morning, and I noticed there was mud on my ball, so I wasn’t that sure how it would come out of the rough, so it was a bit right and landed to about four-feet from where I holed the putt”.
Hill headed to a well-earned lunch break with scores of 70 and 67 and a week after the disappointment of missing the cut by a shot at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
