Ireland's Eamonn Darcy has moved into contention following the completion of his second round at the Qatar Masters today. The 48-year-old veteran, who tied for 12th at the Dubai Desert Classic last weekend, shot a 68 to leave him at seven under overall at the halfway stage of the Doha Golf Club tournament. Although he is still two shots behind the overnight leader Robert Karlsson, Darcy believes he still has a great chance.
"I'm right back in the tournament," he said, "The leaders were just going out as I finished but they'll find it hard in the wind because it's a much tougher day than yesterday. I'm really looking forward to the weekend now, I'll give it a lash! I hit the ball nicely in Dubai and surprised myself a bit because I hadn't played any golf before that. I took a four-month break which I always do. But I got married in December and it's given me a new lease of life. I'm very happy," he added.
Darcy's rise up the leaderboard was accompanied by fellow Irishman Paul McGinley. His bogey-free round of 67 pushed him up to six under and made up for his poor start yesterday. Paul McGinley finished with a 67 to lie 6 under par at halfway. David Higgins and Des Smyth are through on 2 under while Ronan Rafferty carded a 76 to miss the cut by 2.
Meanwhile, overnight leader Robert Karlsson has retained the lead on the second day. He is at 11 under, two shots ahead of Olivier Edmond. There is a group of players on eight under, including Angel Cabrera and Dean Robertson.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
