Hero Dubai Desert Classic - day two digest

Patrick Reed surges to the top, Tyrrell Hatton finishes with a flourish and Andy Sullivan goes birdie crazy.

Everything you need to know from the second round at Emirates Golf Club.

Reed rises to the top

Patrick Reed continued his fine record at Emirates Golf Club after a stellar 66 helped him earn a one-shot lead at the halfway stage. The American, who was runner-up here in 2023 and finished in the top ten 12 months ago, carded two birdies and an eagle on his front nine to join overnight leader Francesco Molinari at the summit on seven under. Two more birdies came at the first and third to reach nine under before parring his way home for a blemish-free 66 to set a target at nine under which no-one could match. Reed said: "Game felt good. Kind of went out there and gave myself a lot of good looks, good opportunities and only missing one green today, that definitely helps. You're able to do that around this type of golf course, you're able to shoot a number and I was lucky enough to see a couple of putts go in early and it just went from there."

Hatton's big bird

Tyrrell Hatton mixed four bogeys and three birdies after 12 holes on a roller coaster second round, but a chip-in at the 15th sparked a revival, which included an eagle at the 17th and a closing birdie, to finish at five under, four adrift of Reed. The highlight came at the penultimate hole, when he was 36 yards from the pin and he placed his chip into the heart of green before the ball rolled into the cup for an eagle two.

Viktor Hovland: Pin-seeker

The Norwegian is making his first start of 2026 amid a lengthy process of swing change. Hovland clearly has his club yardage locked down though, as he hit the flag with his tee-shot at the par-three 15th.

Couvra's great escape

Frenchman Martin Couvra had to play 20 holes on Friday after his first round was prematurely halted due to darkness. Starting on the back nine in his second round, Couvra got out of position from the tenth tee but produced this brilliant second into the par-five hole from the wasteland to card an unlikely birdie.

A "real gem" from Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood proved why he is one of the best players in the world with this majestic approach from the wasteland at the second to set up birdie.

Sullivan's birdie burst

Andy Sullivan stormed into contention during round two thanks to a stunning run of scoring on the front nine. The outward nine at Emirates Golf Club is tough, but the Englishman made light work with four straight birdies from the third. He holed a total of 42 feet across those four gains and narrowly missed out on a fifth successive birdie at the seventh. Sullivan added another at the ninth to reach the turn in 30, but three birdies and three bogeys meant he endured a roller coaster back nine before closing with a magnificent eagle to sit one off the lead.