Ewen Ferguson shot a second-round 65 and leads the Hero Dubai Desert Classic by shot heading into the weekend.
LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm, however, missed the cut after shooting 77 on Friday, a round that included a double bogey on the par-5 18th hole at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. He finished both rounds at 2 over. The cut was even equal. He played the back nine first and made two double bogeys and a bogey through seven holes en route to a 42, then made two birdies and two bogeys to close with a 35 on the front.
It comes a day after Rahm hit an incredible shot from a fairway bunker to make birdie. At 279 yards, he managed to find the green on the third hole on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ferguson’s round included some great shots and perhaps a little luck too. He birdied the par-4 eighth and made the turn in 32. At No. 10, he birdied another and followed with six straight pars.
On the 17th, he drained a 30-footer for another birdie to close in on the lead. On the 18th hole, his second shot bounced off the huge grandstand behind the green and back five feet, setting up a closing eagle 3 on the par-5.
“I thought I played well,” Ferguson said. “I stuck to my game plan.”
As for that shot on 18?
“I thought, you know, I’m just going to go to the back and even if I have to go to the drop zone, I’m just going to have a blast. If I had a 15 footer on the last one I would have been ok with that. It still would have made for a good day, but a little bit of luck goes a long way.”
Daniel Hillier is second solo at 11 under. Tyrrell Hatton of LIV Golf is tied for third at 8 under, four shots back. Rory McIlroy is 3 under, tied for 33rd. Among those who missed the cut with Rahm were Viktor Hovland and Padraig Harrington.
This article was originally published on Golfweek: Ewen Ferguson leads Dubai Desert Classic 2025 as Jon Rahm misses the cut
