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By Kent Gray
Sometimes, a course just suits your eye. For Antoine Rozner, one such play thing is the Fire layout at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

The 28-year-old Parisian is making a decent fist of his AVIV Dubai Championship title defence after rounds of 65-64 to earn the halfway lead in the $1.5 million European Tour event. At -15, Rozner enjoys a one-stroke advantage over Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who also posted a bogey-free 64, and first-round leader Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark, who signed for a round of 67.

It also means the Frenchman is a whopping 40-under par through six circuits of Fire after he won last year’s Golf in Dubai Championship, his maiden European Tour title, with a -25 aggregate.

“My long game was perfect, I was striping it shot after shot.”– Antoine Rozner

“It was definitely one of my best ball-striking rounds out here between this year and last year,” said Rozner who closed with six birdies in the final eight holes of his second round.

“My long game was perfect, I was striping it shot after shot, I missed one green on 17 and that was the only hole I put myself in trouble but I got away with it with a good par. I’m just very pleased, it’s not that easy. You still have to play well, hit good shots, make some putts. I’m not the only one who’s playing well so you’ve got to keep grinding for the next two days.

The trick now, to Rozner’s way of thinking, is to keep chasing.  He’ll need to with Laporta and Hansen on his coattails, not to mention Finland’s Kalle Samooja who roared home in 29 strokes for a third-round 64 to lie solo fourth -13. Tommy Fleetwood is also lurking, overcoming an early bogey on the 2nd to fire a second successive 66 and join fellow Englishman Paul Waring in T-5 on -12.

“Stay aggressive is the mindset, you have o be aggressive over and over,” said Rozner.

“I did that really well last year, obviously I can use that experience from last year and that’s helping me. Last year I was so aggressive over four rounds and I think it’s paying off this week so if I keep doing what I’m doing over the next two days, hopefully there will be a good result in there.”

There will be plenty of support in the Fire galleries over the weekend for fan favourite Fleetwood who has a shot at his sixth European Tour win and third in the UAE after back-to-back Abu Dhabi HSBC Championships triumphs in 2017-18.

“It was a poor start. I missed a chance on the first and then missed a short putt. On such a low scoring course if you have a dry patch it feels so much worse,” Fleetwood said of his second round.

“I holed a putt on seven and played really, really well coming in and had plenty of chances. I felt like I did a good job of continuing to play and hitting good golf shots. I didn’t get panicked or frustrated that I hadn’t had the start I would like. And then it all came together, which doesn’t always happen. But it did and it was another good day.”

There was pride twinged with frustration for UAE No.1 Amhad Skaik whose wait to make a European Tour cut goes on. After an opening 68, the lefty had a great chance to build on the lowest score by an Emirati in European Tour play but a second round 73 saw the amateur miss the cut – set at -5 – by two strokes.