Paul Dunne remains very much in the hunt for European Tour glory at the half-way stage of the Qatar Masters in Doha.
The Greystones man posted a second consecutive under-par round in the Qatar capital and sits just one shot off the lead, which is currently held by a group of nine players, including overnight leader Bradley Dredge from Wales.
Dunne opened on Thursday with a five-under par 67 and followed it up on Friday with a flurry of late birdies to finish two under for the day and seven under for the tournament.
The benign opening-day conditions were replaced by a strengthening breeze in Doha on Friday and Dunne played the front nine in level par, posting nine straight pars.
Dunne then attacked the perceived easier back nine and was rewarded with birdies on the 10th and 11th, however, the former Walker Cup star handed back the two shots on the 12th and 13th to return to level par for the day.
But just when it looked like Dunne was losing ground to the leading bunch, the 24-year-old secured a birdie on the par-four 16th and finished off in style with another birdie on the par-five 18th hole.
Graeme McDowell endured a disappointing second round and despite starting with two birdies, the former US Open champion struggled in the windy conditions and eventually posted a three-over 75.
The Portrush finished at three under for the tournament, and now sits five shots off the lead heading into the weekend.
Disappointing day with the driver. 2 fairways doesn't get it done round here. 5 back and all to play for. Looking forward to the weekend.
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) January 27, 2017
A record nine players share the lead heading into the third round, with the entire field separated by just six shots.
Overnight leader Dredge could only add a 72 to his opening 64 and was joined on eight under par by Andy Sullivan, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo, Thomas Aiken, Jaco van Zyl, Wang Jeunghun and Mikko Korhonen.
'Fabulous!' 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/XTRlxHt8Ss
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 27, 2017
The previous record for the most players tied for the halfway lead on the European Tour was eight in the Scandinavian Masters in 1997.
Sullivan started his round from the 10th with 10 straight pars before four birdies in the last eight holes gave the 2016 Ryder Cup player a second consecutive flawless 68.
"It was a frustrating start to the day," Sullivan told Sky Sports. "I thought my first nine was the one you could really get going on and platform into the back nine, but it didn't really happen.
"I just did not convert the putts but my caddie told me just to be patient on this nine and finally the putts started to drop. All in all I'm reasonably happy, just feel going into the weekend need to improve on the par-five scoring."
Fellow Englishman Jordan Smith was among seven players just a shot off the lead after continuing an impressive start to his debut season with five birdies and an eagle in his 66, the joint-lowest score of the day.
"I'm over the moon," the 24-year-old said. "It was difficult with the wind really picking up in the afternoon and I hit some awesome iron shots out there. Really happy with the way I played."
"I came in with a lot of confidence after a good couple of weeks getting the hang of things. I like to say I'm pretty good in the wind, playing a lot of links course as an amateur gets you used to that."
Smith finished third in the South African Open earlier this month after playing in the last group in the final round with Rory McIlroy and eventual winner Graeme Storm.
The former Walker Cup player added: "I got some kind words from Rory and Graeme afterwards, which was nice, and I just sort of realised myself I can go toe-to-toe with them and have the sort of game to challenge."
Four-time major winner Ernie Els was two shots off the lead after a second round of 70.
"It feels good," Els said. "I felt really comfortable out there tee to green. I felt the greens were a little slower today and I missed a lot of makeable birdie putts, especially on the back nine, but I'm not complaining. I'm playing nicely and looking forward to the weekend."
The 47-year-old added: "I still love it. To be this far away from the family you've got to love it. I still love playing here and competing against these guys and I feel like I can do some good stuff this year if the body can stay healthy."
