Pablo Larrazábal had an eagle and three birdies on the back nine to erase a bad start Friday at the Qatar Masters, allowing the Spaniard to take a one-shot lead into the weekend.
The 122nd-ranked Larrazábal, seeking his seventh DP World Tour title, shot 1-under 71 at Doha Golf Club for a 36-hole total of 9-under 135.
“It was a tough start. Par-bogey-bogey was not in the plans,” said Larrazábal, who added double bogey on the par-5 ninth to complete a front-nine 40 that left him four strokes back after starting the day two shots in front.
He bounced back with an eagle at the par-5 10th before three more birdies, including the 18th.
“Mentally, you have to recover. You have to believe in the shots you plan … that’s what I did and it paid off,” Larrazábal said.
Chase Hanna (66), Wilco Nienaber (68) and Adrian Meronk (70) were all one shot behind in a tie for second.
Hanna felt right at home in the windy conditions.
“Growing up in Kansas, you get a lot of wind,” the 27-year-old American said. “I certainly like the wind. I feel like my game suits the wind nicely. … My iron shots were good especially on the par 3s, just kept it pretty stress free.”