Lawrie on top in Doha

by Dave Maher , 04 February 2012

Paul Lawrie scored an excellent round of 67 to move into the lead of the Qatar Masters.


Strong winds on Friday meant that the second round had to be completed on Saturday, with the tournament cut to 54 holes, and Scotland’s Lawrie leads by a stroke from Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.

Lawrie’s five-under-par performance would have been even better had he not incurred a one-stroke penalty for dropping his ball on his marker – the second week running that the Scot has made such a mistake – on the tenth green.

"I'd never done it in my life - 20 years on Tour - but last week in Abu Dhabi I was lucky because my caddie saw it and said the marker never moved," he said.

"This time I wasn't sure and (senior referee) Andy McFee said I had to be 100 per cent sure.

"I wasn't watching and you guys didn't have it on the telecast, so you've got to take the penalty and kick on."

Swede Peter Hanson and Ricardo Gonzalez share third place on six-under, the Argentinian having matched the leader’s second-round 67.

South Africa’s James Kingston and Englishman Simon Kahn lie a further shot adrift of the summit.

Northern Irishman Michael Hoey sits on two-under following the second round, while Ireland’s Peter Lawrie is on even-par after a disappointing 73.

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