Getty Images

Belgian Thomas Detry has pole-position and the pressure of proven European Tour winners looming large in his rear-view mirror

By Kent Gray
Thomas Detry has the halfway lead, Tyrrell Hatton seemingly the secret to golf – as fleeting as that rare sorcery always turns out to be.

With fast Friday finisher, Tommy Fleetwood among a gaggle of big names somewhere in between the Belgian and the enigmatic Englishman on a quality leaderboard, the 32nd OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic is set up for a fascinating Saturday.

After a pair of 67s, Dubai resident-in waiting Detry enjoys pole-position at 10-under. He’ll take a one stroke lead over Scottish lefty Robert MacIntyre into the third round which is Pink Saturday at Emirates Golf Club in support of breast cancer research. On the evidence of the first 36-holes on the Majlis, expect a lot of red numbers to go with all the pretty polos.

A final-hole eagle propelled Fleetwood (68) into a share of third place at eight-under while Lee Westwood, despite a perplexing afternoon on the greens, produced a fighting 68 to join a cluster of six players at seven-under, Paul Casey (70) perhaps the biggest danger among them.

RELATED: Hatton hums as Detry eases to bogey-free OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic lead

But the story of the second round was Hatton who started Friday in 115th place at four-over and ended it 92 places to the good at four-under, just six off Detry’s sizzling pace. The 29-year-old Englishman chipped in from the rough and holed out from a bunker, fluffed chips and rolled in unlikely putts, found unlucky lies and the full array of his anguished and disbelieving facial expressions. The eagle, birdies, bogeys and death stares eventually added up to a brilliant 64, a 12-shot improvement on the Abu Dhabi champion’s weary opening gambit Thursday.

It would be extraordinary should Hatton recover from his opening 76 to go on and collect the Dallah trophy and back-to-back European Tour titles. Then again, he is the hottest player on the planet right now.

Fellow Ryder Cuppers Martin Kaymer (70), Sergio Garcia (73) and Justin Rose (69), at six, five and four-under respectively, are also in the hunt. Even European captain Padraig Harrington (69), also at minus four, has a sniff. The European Tour season may be just six rounds old, and yet it is already so compelling. Roll on moving day.