World Number 25, Cameron Young, will take a three-shot lead heading into the weekend of
the 35th edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the DP World Tour’s longest running event outside of Europe.

The 26-year-old, who is making his debut in the tournament, followed up his bogey-free 67 on day one with an ‘almost bogey-free’ 64 on Friday, had it not been for a dropped shot on his final hole after his approach shot found the water.

Young, who has two Korn Ferry Tour victories to his name and four top 10s in the majors throughout the past two years, puts his scoring around the Majlis mainly down to his trusty flat stick.

“I putted fantastic,” he said. “I made a couple of long ones yesterday and then made a few more today that had no right going in.

“I hit a bunch of good putts but just one of those days where you kind of have a couple of 30-footers and you look up and they are going right in the middle, which doesn’t happen all that often to have a bunch of them in one round.”

The American seems to be settling into Emirates Golf Club very well by just doing his own thing, as the New Yorker enjoyed the favourable conditions he had on Friday morning in Dubai.

“I’m doing a really good job of staying out of my own way. I kind of realised it was going well early but the back nine, at the same time, it feels like you should do that to some extent, especially in the morning with not much wind.

“I feel like the back nine, I just played really solidly, and then made a putt on one, made a putt on four and all of a sudden that was eight (under) or something.

“Just one of those days that they kept kind of going in and I didn’t make too many mistakes.”

Young is three shots clear from Dubai resident Adrian Meronk, after the Pole had a bogey-free 66, which sees him sit alongside Andy Sullivan in a tie for second after the Englishman matched his Thursday 67 with the same on Friday.

Round of the day went to Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura who shot a nine under 63, highlighted with an eagle two on the par four 14th after he holed his approach shot from 169 yards.

Defending champion, Rory McIlroy, could only manage a two under 70 on Friday, still, it sees him through to the weekend on three under.

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