England’s Eddie Pepperell tweaked his putting grip and reaped the benefits to lead the Dubai Desert Classic after a second round 67 on Friday.

After missing his last two cuts the 29-year-old switched to the claw grip which served his fellow countryman Lee Westwood so well when winning in Abu Dhabi last weekend.

With changes to his swing too Pepperell made the most of lighter winds to move to eight under, one shot clear of American defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, South African Dean Burmester and Swede Robert Karlsson.

“I think regardless of what your hands are doing on the grip, great putters tend to look quite comfortable,” whose two European Tour wins came in Qatar and the British Masters in 2018.

“If I can keep doing that over the weekend with what I’ve been doing with the swing I think I’m going to make plenty of birdies which would be great.”

His round featured seven birdies, with the one dropped shot coming at the par four sixth.

DeChambeau rattled off three opening birdies in what he described as “a great start to the day”.

“I thought I could maybe birdie them all but that was too high of a goal, obviously,” the 26-year-old Californian added.

Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai Champion, produced the best round of the week so far with a 65, 10 shots better than his effort on Thursday, to leave him in a tie for 11th, four shots off the lead.

Overnight leader Thomas Pieters was unable to match his first round 67, the former Ryder Cup winner slumping to a share of 32nd, eight shots adrift after a 77.

Meanwhile, school children from across the UAE took part in the build-up to the Dubai Desert Classic, by participating in the annual ODDC School’s Day, while tournament organisers also confirmed that children  aged 17 and under would be able to visit for free in order to sample the family friendly entertainment on offer.

The programme which continues to go from strength to strength saw 80 kids take part. The 2020 edition included fun activities with two of the world’s best golfers present leaving the youngsters impressed with this this once in a lifetime experience.

Organised by Falcon Golf, the programme looks to promote the development of golf at a grassroots level while showcasing the new Kids Clubhouse and all the activities contained within.  

The day saw seven schools from the region, including: Dubai English Speaking School, American School Dubai, Nord Anglia International School Dubai, Abdullah Al Salem School, Rashid Bin Humaid  Model School, Sharjah Model School and the Islamic Scientific Institute bring their school children along to partake in a number of activities to learn more about the sport and try something they wouldn’t ordinarily have access to.  

The pupils took part in the day’s proceedings, which kicked-off with golfers Erik Van Rooyen and Matthias Schwab leading an introductory golf clinic in conjunction with Peter Cowen Academy  and Emirates Golf Federation, allowing some of the children to be lucky enough to meet their idols. The players spoke to the children about the value of remaining fit and healthy, as well as promoting the sport of golf.

Watching on was Simon Corkill, the Executive Tournament Director, who commented: “Our annual schools programme is a great place for the kids, who can come and try not  just golf but other sports too. Tournament Town has plenty of activities for children to engage with, so they can whack a few golf balls around and hopefully enjoy playing the game. I feel it’s important to promote sport to kids, in whatever format because  if they have the opportunity and the accessibility to try new sports then they’re more likely to be become interested in that particular sport and stick with it. Golf is most definitely a game for life and there are so many different aspects to it that you  can enjoy, so hopefully today will have played a small part in developing that.”

After their clinic with the players, the children were lucky enough to be visited by an illusionist, as well as being able to try out all the activities on offer  in Tournament Town, such as the bouncy castle, Tri Sports arena, PlayStation booths and face painting challenges. The children also tried their hand at some of the art activations by leaving their mark on the Art Attack wall, which saw the school children  unleash their creative flair on a blank canvas.