Hansen gains ground as wind halts play in Oman

Cape Town - Joachim B. Hansen, winner of the European Challenge Tour Rankings in 2018, drew level with first-round leader Kurt Kitayama at the Oman Open as the second round in Muscat was suspended due to high winds.

The Dane completed 16 holes at Al Mouj Golf before play was suspended, due to winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour, at 11:38 local time. Hansen is six under par with just the eighth and ninth holes left to play. American Kitayama is level par for his round through 13 holes.

Playing in the first group this morning, Maximilian Kieffer completed his second round before the suspension, posting a two-under par round of 70 to join Scott Jamieson and Yusaku Miyazato, who are yet to tee off, in a share of third place on five under par.

"It's a decent score in these conditions. It's not playing very easy. It was windy and getting gusty too. The pins are difficult on firm greens, so I'm pleased with two under today," said Kieffer.

"The greens are quite exposed, so you have to take the slope and the wind into account. Putts can be quite difficult into a crosswind. It was a day where you needed to have the right feel for how the ball was going to react, and I had a pretty good feeling today. Looking at the big picture, it's a good position to be in."

Gaganjeet Bhullar, Hugo Leon and Fabrizio Zanotti moved into sixth place on four under par with eight, six and three holes left to play respectively.

The second round will resume at 07:40 local time on Saturday morning, with the third round beginning no earlier than 13:45.