GOLF – SCOTLAND’S Calum Hill produced one of the rounds of the season to storm into a commanding four-shot lead yesterday at the halfway stage of the 2026 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, matching the course record with a stunning 11-under-par 61 at Royal Golf Club.
The two-time DP World Tour winner, who claimed his most recent title at the Joburg Open in March last year after a sensational final-round comeback, was in imperious form from the outset, carding 11 birdies without dropping a shot to move to 16-under-par for the tournament.
“Today was really good,” said Hill. “I started off really well and then I had a few bonus putts from really long range to really go in and it just kept making birdies. It was nice.
“That’s obviously my best round in competitive golf, in tournament golf. I haven’t kept track of what I’ve shot in practice, but I think that’s up there as one of the best rounds I’ve played.
“I knew the course record was 11-under, so I knew I needed to hole my last approach shot to break the course record and it looked very good in the air. I thought it had a chance but just long, but it was nice to finish off with a birdie as well. Very happy.”
Germany’s Freddy Schott, the overnight co-leader, maintained his challenge with a second-round 67 to sit alone in second place at 12 under par. The 24-year-old got off to a fast start with a chip-in on the first hole and added an eagle on 14.
“I really enjoyed playing today,” said Schott, whose mentor Marcel Siem is also in this week’s field. “My putting was good, so I’m looking forward to the weekend now.
“I just went out and tried to do the same thing as yesterday. It worked out well.
“I feel good. I enjoy Bahrain. It’s a very, very nice track, especially if the wind picks up, it’s cool to play and it’s very enjoyable.
“The whole game is positive - putting, I’m good off the tee, so I can take a lot of positives into the weekend and try to get it rolling again.”
France’s Ugo Coussaud sits alone in third place at nine-under-par after a four-under 68, while overnight co-leader Alejandro Del Rey slipped back with a one-over 71 to sit in a share of fourth at eight-under-par alongside Andrea Pavan, Nacho Elvira, Julien Guerrier, Daniel Hillier, Shubhankar Sharma, Casey Jarvis, JC Ritchie, and Joost Luiten.
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, making his first DP World Tour appearance of 2026, fired a six-under 66 to climb into that group at eight-under.
“It was nice to get going there, from nine onwards,” said Garcia. “I was struggling a little bit, obviously a little bit rusty. I hit some really nice shots, that was nice to see.
“I still didn’t feel amazing with my swing, so I still need to keep improving for sure, but I’m very happy to shoot 66.
“When you make a bogey, it’s always nice to birdie the next if you can. I was able to do that today a couple of times, and then I got going on the back nine and made a couple of really nice saves.
“The course was playing totally different today. The wind was playing different; it was blowing pretty much the opposite way. Some of the holes early on, they were playing very long, they were very tough. Some of those holes were playing very challenging, so I’m glad I was able to scrape through those not too badly and I took advantage when the wind calmed down a little bit.
“I can hopefully just keep playing well. Hopefully I have a tiny bit more confidence here and there and when I don’t hit a good shot, try to make a good save like I did today. We’ll see.”
Defending champion Laurie Canter carded a one-over 73 to slip back to five-under-par, while last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic winner Patrick Reed bounced back with a four-under 67 to move to six-under-par.
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