Friday 27 January 2017 12:40, UK
Andy Sullivan believes his game is trending in the right direction after grabbing a share of the clubhouse lead during the second round of the Qatar Masters.
Sullivan posted a second successive 68 at Doha GC to sit in a six-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, joining Bradley Dredge, Mikko Korhonen, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo and Thomas Aiken on eight under.
The 29-year-old opened with 10 straight pars before finding four birdies after the turn in a blemish-free round, as he looks to find the form which saw him register three European Tour titles in 2015.
Sullivan came in to the event off the back of an early exit in South Africa and a last-place finish from those who made the cut in Abu Dhabi, but is pleased to see signs of progress.
"I felt like I've prepared really well for the start of the season and to finally see some numbers that you would be quite happy with is nice," Sullivan said.
"I felt like it was only a matter of time before I started to play well again, and it's come this week.
"I'm reasonably happy with that and feel like going in to the weekend I just need to improve on the par-five scoring."
Top seed Alex Noren is a further strokes back on the bunched leaderboard, with the world No 10 following an opening-round 68 with a two-under 70 in windier conditions on Friday.
"It was quite a tricky day," Noren said. "I didn't maybe play my best all the way around. But, heading into the weekend, anything can happen.
"I'm trying not to think about it [being top seed] too much. It's in the back of my mind, but there's so many good players here. It's not all about the rankings."
Watch the Qatar Masters throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live coverage begins on Saturday from 9am
