Jayden Schaper got into gear on Friday as he showed that he truly belongs at the top table of the DP World Tour. His four-under-par 68 in the second round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic put him into a share of sixth heading into the weekend.

Schaper made five birdies and one bogey in his second round which got underway on the 10th at Emirates Golf Club, and he moved to five-under-par for the tournament. That put him four shots off the pace which was set by American Patrick Reed, who carded a second round of six-under 66 to hit the front at nine-under through 36 holes.

Reed was one stroke ahead of Andy Sullivan, who carded a seven-under 65 which included three bogeys. Italians Andrea Pavan and Francesco Molinari shared third on seven-under and Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark was on six-under in fifth place.

While he wasn’t producing any fireworks, Schaper’s two victories in December have made him look the part as he stays in the upper echelons of most leaderboards these days. He started with two early birdies, and dropped a shot on the 16th. But he was flawless after the turn as he made three birdies on the front nine, which has been playing harder all week so far.

Amongst others in a share of sixth with Schaper was Hennie du Plessis, who also had five birdies and a bogey in his second round of 68.

JC Ritchie made his first cut in a Rolex Series tournament, with his second round of one-over 73 taking him to three-under for the tournament. Alos on three-under in a share of 13th was amateur Christiaan Maas, who had a one-under 71 in the second round.

Zander Lombard was on two-under in a share of 20th.