GOLF – CALLUM Tarren took a two-shot lead yesterday at the halfway stage of the 2025 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship at The Royal Golf Club.
The Englishman battled back from a slow start to post a superb second-round 67 en route to rising to the top of the leaderboard.
He went into yesterday’s action on eight under par after firing a flawless 64 on Thursday, but was unable to keep the bogeys off his card in the early stages of the afternoon.
After dropping a shot at the opening hole, Tarren made another bogey on the fourth to slip even further off the pace. But he bounced back in style, carding four birdies in his next five holes to turn in 34 blows.
And the birdies kept coming on the back nine as Tarren picked up shots at the 11th, 13th, and 14th to head into today’s third round on 13 under par.
“I got off to a shaky start today, but I knew I was playing good golf so I just stayed patient,” said Tarren.
“A few bounce-back birdies, and I played really solid again. So just more of that and see what happens.”
Tarren’s closest challengers were Italy’s Andrea Pavan and England’s Dan Brown on 11 under, with Pablo Larrazábal another shot further back after making a memorable hole-in-one at the second.
Pavan held the early clubhouse lead after the morning starter notched eight birdies and a single bogey, while Brown also shot a seven-under-par 65 in the afternoon.
“Yesterday was tricky in the afternoon, but I managed to shoot four under,” said Pavan, whose only bogey of the day came at the par-four 18th. “Today I had a very good start, it was not as windy, the greens were softer, and I took advantage of that.
“I played well, did everything pretty well, just a blip on the last but it is what it is.”
Tarren started the day three shots off the lead before falling further behind with an opening bogey.
Another bogey followed at the fourth before he responded with back-to-back tap-in birdies at the fifth and sixth, which came courtesy of two delightful approach shots.
After safely parring the short seventh, the 34-year-old holed his 22-foot birdie effort on the eighth before closing the front nine with a seven-foot birdie to sit one shot off the summit at the turn.
Tarren joined the lead on 11 under with a three-foot birdie at the 11th before taking advantage of the back nine’s two par fives, the 13th and 14th, to move two shots clear at the summit.
Those two birdies were followed by battling pars at the 15th and 16th as Tarren held on to his two-stroke cushion.
And although he gave himself chances to stretch his advantage on the 17th and 18th, he settled for pars there to sign for a 67.
“I misjudged the wind on one, got it riding the wind and hit it up against the fence,” he said. “I could hit it but it was against a rock so didn’t want to risk that. I just said, ‘Ride this tough start’, but plenty of chances out there. Managed to capitalise on a few good shots.
“There were a couple in the middle of the round where I hit it to two feet and a foot with nine iron and a wedge.
“A couple of good saves coming in, a couple of good putts. The par save on 16, that keeps the momentum going.
“Shame about the last (missed birdie chance) but I’m ready to tackle the weekend.
“I’ve got to keep the foot to the floor because the course will yield birdies to the guys behind me. Just keep doing what I’m doing, stay patient.
“I feel very relaxed this week for some reason, I don’t know why. I just feel super chilled, so hopefully that’s a good omen.”
Following last night’s cut, which left 68 players in contention, the first pairing tee off today morning at 6.48am. The last two golfers, namely Pavan and Tarren, will begin their round at 12.25pm.
In addition to the elite competition on the greens, the 2025 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship promises an exciting lineup of off-course highlights in the Championship Village, designed to entertain friends, families, and fans of all ages.
In addition to the free general admission, elevated and premium experiences are also available.
Registration for all ticket options is open on manama.platinumlist.net.
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