Law in charge at Ras Al Khaimah Championship

Dubai - The Scot carded an eight-under 64 to take a two-stroke advantage into the weekend

David Law took control at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital as the Scot carded an eight-under 64 to take a two-stroke advantage into the weekend at Al Hamra Golf Club on Friday.

The 30-year-old, whose sole win came almost exactly three years ago at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, had finished his first round with an eagle and he carried that momentum into the second day in the northernmost emirates of the UAE.

Law registered two more eagle threes and birdied the other two par fives at the coastal resort, with three further birdies earning him a 64 and a 14-under par total.

“I chipped in twice for two eagles so that was picking up four shots straight away which was great,” said Law.

“I played good, yesterday (Thursday) was tricky, today as a little different. It was a different golf course today (Friday), but I rode my luck a little, chipping in twice, but I was happy.

“It’s been a while since the win. This is my fourth season on tour. I had a chance at St Andrews last year to win and I felt very comfortable again in that position. I feel like my golf has progressed nicely in the last three years and that’s the main aim, that’s all anyone’s trying to do – to keep improving.”

Law’s 64 moved him two shots clear of Nicolai Højgaard of Denmark, whose seven under 65 was enough to claim outright second spot heading into the weekend on 12 under.

“It was a good day, I played some nice golf, felt like I was driving it a bit better than I have for the last couple of weeks so I put myself in some good spots to hit it close to the pins,” said the youngster.

“After those last two weeks, I put in some good work. I felt like my thoughts and swing were a bit blocked up, I couldn’t free up so I’ve just been trying to free up a little bit, play golf with my skills and let my talent take over instead of trying to overthink things.”

Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, meanwhile, broke the course record at Al Hamra with a stunning 63 which left him four shots off the lead in third spot, on ten under.

“Yesterday (Thursday) I holed some good putts, today (Friday) I holed some good ones as well,” said the Spaniard.

“I think the difference today was that I felt a lot more comfortable with my driving.

“I tried to just keep it going, keep giving myself birdie chances. I was feeling confident with my putting, I was rolling the ball very well, so nothing really special in my mind.

“Just the basics, keep going and I think we did that very well,” he added.

LEADING SCORES:

Second round:

130 - David Law 66-64

132 - Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN) 67-65

134 - Adrian Otaegui (ESP) 71-63

135 - Brandon Stone (RSA) 66-69, Oliver

Bekker (RSA) 70-65, Jordan Smith 71-64,

Thomas Detry (BEL) 66-69

136 - Shaun Norris (RSA) 68-68, Marcus

Armitage 69-67, Robert MacIntyre 69-67,

Johannes Veerman (USA) 66-70, Tapio

Pulkkanen (FIN) 68-68, Sebastian Heisele

(GER) 65-71, Lukas Nemecz (AUT) 70-66