Injury and illness can’t sink Hoey

After recently avoiding serious injury in a swimming pool mishap, Michael Hoey was battling a mystery virus as he fought to remain in contention with two rounds remaining in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Hoey signed for a three-under-par 69 to move to five under in unusually benign conditions on the only golf course in Doha.

It left the Belfast golfer trailing just four shots behind the leading four of Portugal’s Ricardo Santos (70), Australia’s Marcus Fraser (67) and the Ryder Cup heavyweight duo of Martin Kaymer (67) and Sergio Garcia (66).

Prior to this year’s event Hoey had broken 70 just once in 13 rounds on the Peter Harradine-designed desert course. However, after falling heavily on his back last Monday week in an Abu Dhabi hotel pool, Hoey’s latest health concern is shaking off the effects of a virus of sorts.

“Apart from the mishap early last week in the hotel pool, I’ve picked up some sort of bug and I feel a bit weak, and I feel like I just want to lie down now,” he said.

“But in saying that I’m feeling a lot stronger every day and hopefully I can shake off whatever it is.”

Hoey picked off four birdies, starting with a wedge from the rough to nine feet at the 14th — the fifth hole of his round. He then played a super 40-foot flop shot at the short par-four 16th to just two feet and then hit a wedge from 135-yards at the next to eight feet for birdie.

Hoey’s inward nine was a mix of two further birdies as well as two bogeys.

“Of the three courses, Doha seems to suit my game better while Abu Dhabi is my favourite as it’s my first event of the year and you now have Rory [McIlroy] and Tiger [Woods] playing the event,” said Hoey.

“But a 69 today was a good score as I hit my driver all over the place and it was my short game and putting that kept me in there. The thing is here in Doha you don’t have to hit the ball unbelievable long and as long as you capitalise on the par-fives and on the shorter par four like 16.”

Damien McGrane (72) is a stroke behind on four under par with Peter Lawrie and Gareth Maybin signing for 71s to make the cut right on the one under par mark. However, all three Ryder Cup captains in the event missed the cut with Colin Montgomerie shooting a 79 for a seven over par tally, Jose Maria Olazabal (75) for eight over and McGinley (75) for a four over finish.

McGinley was one under par for his round after 13 holes but played his closing five in four over, including finding the water at his last.