Robin Sciot-Siegrist holds a one shot lead at the Abu Dhabi Challenge after signing for a bogey free five under par round of 65.

Opening his second round with six consecutive pars, Frenchman Sciot-Siegrist picked up three shots around the turn before adding further birdies on the 14th and 16th holes at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club to move to 11 under for the tournament.

The 30-year-old, who sits 64th in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings, is one clear of his closest rival in Spaniard Sebastian Garcia and is ready to embrace the leaderboard pressure heading into the weekend.

“I am just going to keep doing what I am doing and deal with the pressure,” he said.

“There’s still two more days and a lot of golf to come. We will see what happens at the end. I’ve been playing well. I made a lot of putts yesterday; it was a great round today.”

Having dealt with tough conditions at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, Sciot-Siegrist was delighted to finish the day with a clean scorecard.

“I have to say, with the conditions, I am very happy with no bogeys today,” he added.

“The pins are hard, the greens are getting firmer. A couple of shots were quite difficult with the wind blowing and the pins were difficult to get to.”

First round pacesetter Garcia sits one shot back on ten under par after making three consecutive birdies to close out his round. Meanwhile Garrick Porteous, the 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge winner, is nine under par after carding a second round 64.

Porteous started the week with modest expectations, admitting he’d be happy just to make it to the weekend after bringing his 10-year full-time playing career to a close at the end of last season.

Competing in his first HotelPlanner Tour event since October and with minimal preparation – limited to a few appearances on the Emirates PGA – it’s fair to say the Englishman has surpassed his own expectations.

Having opened with a three under par 67, the 35-year-old delivered an impressive six under par 64 on Friday, carding seven birdies and one bogey.

“I have surprised myself a little bit,” said Porteous.

“I had one swing thought coming into the week, and it’s worked so far. Let’s hope it continues for the weekend.

“I played nicely out there. It’s tough – a lot tougher out there compared to last year. The greens are firm, and the rough is up a little bit, so you get a few awkward lies. It’s also been a bit windy the last two afternoons, it’s been a good test.”

American Davis Bryant, Italian Renato Paratore, Portuguese Pedro Figueiredo, Slovakian Tadeas Tetak, Frenchman Felix Mory and Spaniard Albert Boneta all sit at eight under.

Issa Abou El Ela agonisingly missed the cut by just one stroke, as the Egyptian shot impressive rounds of two over par and two under par 68 to finish on level par for the tournament.

The third round of the Abu Dhabi Challenge starts at 07:30am, with Sciot-Siegrist teeing it up alongside Porteous and Garcia at 09:30am.

Crucial support for the tournament comes from Abu Dhabi Sports Council, UAE-headquartered Arena, Al Laith, and eGolf Megastore.

Main Image: Getty Images – Octavio Passos