Australian Jason Scrivener is again in competition to win the Abu Dhabi Championship, the event through which he loved his greatest pay-day in golf.
At midway, the 33-year-old lies only a shot off the lead held by Francesco Molinari, the resurgent former British Open champion, and his Italian compatriot Guido Miggliozzi on the Yas Golf Hyperlinks course the place Scrivener completed second two years in the past.
That was the very best week of his profession, as he scooped an $A1.7 million pay cheque, and he now appears to be like within the temper for one more crack on the profitable title as he continued the spectacular type that noticed him end runner-up within the Australian PGA behind Cam Smith in November.
Scrivener adopted up his good two-eagle, opening spherical of 65 with a 70, which once more featured a few spectacular pictures – a tee shot to inside 4 toes on the 212-yard par-Three fourth gap and a 30ft birdie putt on the 14th.
It left him on nine-under for the event in his first occasion of the 12 months, one forward of a gaggle of 5 headed by one other former British Open champion Shane Lowry.
And simply two behind Scrivener is a logjam of seven others, together with his compatriot Min Woo Lee, who appears to be like in an excellent place to assault after including a three-under 69 to his opening four-under 68, and New Zealander Ryan Fox, who carded 66.
Lee might, nevertheless, have been even nearer to the lead if he had not discovered a fairway bunker, then the tough, earlier than three-putting the final for a closing bogey six
In the meantime, Molinari’s surge in type gathered tempo with a second straight 67 for his midway whole of 10 underneath, which Migliozzi matched with a 69, due to birdies on his final three holes.
Molinari received 3 times in 2018, together with the British Open at Carnoustie and the European Tour’s flagship PGA Championship at Wentworth, earlier than changing into the primary European participant to compile an ideal 5-Zero file in that 12 months’s Ryder Cup.
The 40-year-old’s fortunes have dwindled, although, as he hasn’t received a event for practically 4 years however there have been indicators of the previous Molinari eventually week’s Hero Cup through which he went unbeaten whereas captaining Continental Europe to victory.
“I do not need to get forward of myself. It is a few good rounds however I do know, I am conscious of the place I am coming from,” he stated.
“The sport feels totally different. I feel it appears to be like totally different, too.”
Molinari’s purpose this 12 months is a fourth Ryder Cup look on house soil in Rome, and he admitted: “It will be unimaginable.
“I by no means wanted a choose for my three Ryder Cups, so it could be good to not want a choose once more this 12 months.”
In a single day chief and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald fell 5 pictures off the tempo after including a 75 to his opening 64.
