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Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson rode his luck on the final hole, finishing with an eagle to take a one-shot lead at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

It looked for most of the day that Daniel Hillier’s 11-under-par halfway total would be enough to lead going into the weekend at Emirates Golf Club. However, Ferguson, who currently resides in Dubai, chipped in on the eighth as he turned in 32 then birdied the long tenth from close range.

Six straight pars looked to have derailed the 28-year-old’s chances of leading outright, but he holed a 30-footer at the 17th to get within one then saw his second to the par-five last clatter off the stand behind the green and bounce back to five feet, with the subsequent eagle giving him a 65 and 12-under halfway total.

New Zealand’s Hillier had also eagled the 18^th at the Majlis Course, albeit in more orthodox fashion from 15 feet, in a flawless round of 65.

The pair are well clear of the chasing pack, with South African Shaun Norris, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and English pair Laurie Canter and Tyrrell Hatton tied for third on eight under.

Four-time Hero Dubai Desert Classic winner Rory McIlroy currently sits eight shots off the lead at three under par.

Player quotes

Ewen Ferguson: I think I played well. I just stuck to my game plan. I didn’t try and overpower the course like I had tried to last year. It’s just not my game. I hit seven-wood on some of the shorter holes that are tight and gave myself chances. 

Last year I felt like I tried to almost drive it on the greens, I don’t hit it as far as someone like Rory and I had an awkward 30-yarder from the heavy rough but this time had a good strategy and felt good support out there so far. Yeah, 65 sounds nice. 

The front nine is so tough and I was actually really nervous starting the day. Five under yesterday, but one, two, three holes, some of the holes are so difficult. So I was really nervous at the start to try to get off to a good start. A golfer’s mind can get away from you sometimes and all of the sudden feels like a different game. So when I got off to a good start, birdieing the first, I felt calmer calm after that. 

Yeah, 36 holes played, leading so far is great. It’s nice to be doing well, and as big as this is, some of the players that are playing, it’s really, really cool, and I’m proud of myself.

Daniel Hillier: Two very different days of golf. I think day one, striped it off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances. Just a solid round of golf. Today a few extra putts went in than I was expecting. Yeah, it’s nice to see those drop and hopefully they keep dropping.

Pretty similar. The wind was slightly different. So there were a couple of holes that played slightly different. But overall, it’s playable at the moment. It’s not as firm and fast as it can be but I’m sure over the weekend, it will get pretty fiery. It will be a good test.

I feel definitely had a good break. Had four and a half, five weeks at home. Sticks didn’t come out very often to be honest but I usually need it around that time of the year. It’s just nice to hang out with family and friends and get right for the season.

Laurie Canter:  I think I’ve driven the ball well. The way the rough is, the way the greens are, you need to be able to hit the fairway a lot. I feel like I’ve hit a lot of fairways, and when I miss fairways, I’ve kind of maybe been in or around the semi rough or given myself a shot to the green. So I’d say that’s a really important thing to do and I’m doing it well so far.

Basically, Phil Kenyon used to help me with my putting, who is the man in putting, really. He’s kind of very much been in demand. I asked Howler (David Howell), he’s a member of the same golf club of me. I felt like if I could pick his brains and how he thought about putting, if any of that rubbed off on me. I’ve always kind of had the mindset of I need to practise it, particularly enjoyed it. I’ve just asked questions about how he thinks, how I practise, just asked him loads of questions.

I just found it inspiring (on playing in the Team Cup). Like I think it was really inspiring, and more so than I thought. I thought it might just be a couple of teams playing match play. But it was so much more than that. Like all the stuff we got from the legends and being around captains and hearing their kind of genuine experiences about you want to play in the Ryder Cup now.

Jason Scrivener: I think so. I probably drove it better yesterday. Today, I think I played a smart round of golf. When I was out of position, put it back in play and holed some nice putts, as well.

I love it here. I’ve had mixed results. Yeah, I think it’s a course that suits me. I’m generally a straight driver, and if I can roll a few putts in, really does suit me.

It was a nice reset, really. Last year I got sick a couple of times. Two kids probably. Changed life a little bit, as well. So it’s been nice to step away from the game a little bit. But now I’m kind of re-invented myself in a way and enthusiastic to improve and get back to where I was.

Tyrrell Hatton: It was a good day. Felt a lot more comfortable on the greens today. Yesterday I struggled a bit with pace and then yeah, from the get-go, I felt like I had good speed, and just felt very comfortable over the ball on the greens, and it was nice to see some putts go in. 

Yeah, in a pretty steady spot. I’d love to go and have another good round tomorrow and give myself a chance going into Sunday. I feel like this is one of those events that you would love to have on your C.V. It’s an iconic event for the DP World Tour, and I’d love to give myself a chance.