Challenge Tour, DP World Tour, Ladies European Tour, Asian TourBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Ras al Khaimah Championship, Tom McKibbin, John Murphy, Gary Hurley, Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, Conor Purcell, Ruaidhri McGee, Magica Kenya Ladies Open, PIF Saudi International, Olivia Mehaffey, Phil Mickelson

Harrington decides to give it a lash in the desert

Challenge Tour, DP World Tour, Ladies European Tour, Asian TourBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Ras al Khaimah Championship, Tom McKibbin, John Murphy, Gary Hurley, Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, Conor Purcell, Ruaidhri McGee, Magica Kenya Ladies Open, PIF Saudi International, Olivia Mehaffey, Phil Mickelson
Harrington decides to give it a lash in the desert

Padraig Harrington watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round at the 2022 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley C.C. (Old Course) in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday, June 26, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Pádraig Harrington feels there is no option but to continue to "lash away" after he struggled to find fairways and found himself six shots off the halfway lead in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

The big-hitting veteran (51) said before the tournament that Al Hamra Golf Club was "the narrowest golf course I've ever seen", with deep rough and sandy waste putting a premium on finding elusive fairways.

But while he led the field for strokes gained off the tee en route to a first-round 69, the three-time Major champion dropped well down that category yesterday as he found just three for 14 fairways.

After finding it almost impossible to find fairways, he gave up trying and just let fly, making four birdies and two bogeys in a two-under 70 to lie joint 23rd on five-under, six strokes behind Scotland's David Law, Dane Rasmus Hojgaard and reigning Horizon Irish Open champion Adrian Meronk of Poland.

"What a difference a day makes," Harrington informed his 200,000-plus Twitter followers. "Struggled off the tee, never felt comfortable. I've now hit 8 fairways this week, which is the median number. No player has hit more than 50pc of fairways (two have hit 50pc) in almost perfect weather."

He added: "As I said in my preview, the narrowest fairways I've ever seen, doglegs, a few slopes, heavy rough and firm. At least it's not blowing. Eventually you give up trying to hit them and just lash away."

Law fired an eagle and three birdies over the final five holes to card an eight-under 64 and join Meronk and Hojgaard on 11-under par.

Meronk had made seven birdies in a bogey-free 65 to set the early target before being joined by Højgaard (21), who shot 67 as he tries to emulate his twin Nicolai, the reigning champion.

First-round leader Ryo Hisatsune produced a second-round 70 to sit in a four-way tie for fourth on 10-under alongside the Netherlands' Wil Besseling and England's Daniel Gavins and Dale Whitnell.

Holywood's Tom McKibbin (20) tops the charts for strokes gained off the tee, but he's well down the field for approach play and while he made five birdies, he also had four bogeys in a 71 that left him eight shots off the pace on three-under.

McKibbin missed the cut in his first two starts of the year in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but while he now has weekend employment, fellow rookies Gary Hurley (30) and John Murphy (24) missed the two-under par cut by five shots after rounds of 75 and 73 respectively in their first starts in 2023.

On the Challenge Tour, Jaco van Zyl took a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open after firing a bogey-free seven-under 65 at Royal Cape.

The South African leads by a shot from countryman Dylan Mostert, Englishman Ashley Chesters and Zimbabwe's Benjamin Follett-Smith on nine-under.

Portmarnock's Conor Purcell went into the second round tied for fourth, but he dropped three shots in a row from the fourth before mixing four birdies with two more bogeys over the last 12 to card a 72 that left him tied 23rd on three-under, six shots off the lead.

Rosapenna's Ruaidhri McGee (31) birdied the last to open his account for 2023 with a second successive 72 and make the cut on the number.

Meanwhile, Olivia Mehaffey bounced back from her opening 80 and carded a battling, one-over 73 to make the cut with a shot to spare in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open.

Playing in her first event since taking time out to deal with mental health issues last summer, the former Arizona State University star was tied for 50th on eight-over at Vipingo Ridge, 17 shots behind India's Aditi Ashok, who leads by five strokes on nine-under after a 70.

Graeme McDowell fired a three-under 69 in the second round of the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens to share 30th at halfway, eight strokes behind Mexico's Abraham Ancer, who headed Cameron Young by a shot on 11-under after a 66.

But it was a struggle from some of the big names in LIV Golf as Bubba Watson and reigning Open champion Cameron Smith missed the level par cut by two shots, and six-time Major winner Phil Mickelson missed out by one after a 71.

The left-hander lit up Twitter overnight when a user suggested that if there was "a LIV v PGA Tour team event right now in a Ryder Cup format with Phil and Tiger as captains, it would be the most watched golf event in history."

Mickelson impishly replied it would be a walkover for the LIV Golf rebels.

"It sounds great," he tweeted. "But we would dominate them so soundly and it would be over so quick that tv would have to fill an hour of dead time. That's why it's not happening at this time."

In reply to a user who said, "@TigerWoods come on man. Let's make it happen," Mickelson replied: "Tell him he can use a cart."

When another user tagged Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa might have "something to say" about his prediction of LIV Golf "domination" in a hypothetical match with the PGA Tour, Mickelson quipped: "They do seem to talk a lot."