Calum Hill stormed into a four-shot lead after shooting a career-best 61 and equalling the course record at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship on Friday.
Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2026 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship
Calum Hill birdies the 18th to tie the course record 61 💪
The Scotsman carded 11 birdies and seven pars for his lowest round on Tour. #BahrainGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/1OEnS6v2Wb
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2026
The Scot fired 11 birdies, including five across his final six holes, to reach 16 under par in a flawless performance at Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
His stellar round fell just one shot short of claiming the Course Record presented by Nexo prize, which would’ve seen him take home a pot of $70,000 should he have beaten the mark set by Brandon Robinson Thompson in last year’s event.
In his 140th start on the DP World Tour, Hill took advantage of still morning conditions, opening with five birdies on the front nine before tallying another six on the back. Two long-range putts, both measuring over 30 feet, at the 16th and 17th reflected his magical round.
Hill, in search of his third DP World Tour title after already having the 2025 Joburg Open and 2021 Cazoo Classic to his name, heads into the weekend with a handy buffer over Germany’s Freddy Schott.
"That's up there as one of the best rounds I've played yet."
It's not everyday you shoot a round of 61, Calum 👏 #BahrainGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/qJZaiv6tEh
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2026
Schott, Thursday’s co-leader, backed up his opening round 65 with a 67, moving to 12-under par. The 24-year-old sits in second, thanks to five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle, three shots ahead of Frenchman Ugo Coussaud in third.
Coussard, who teed off on the 10th, completed his round with back-to-back birdies, picking up five shots and carding just one bogey to move into solo third at nine under.
A stunning back nine of 30 to go from the cut line to T3 for Sergio ✍️#BahrainGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/2b2P2SdrQZ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2026
11 players share fourth on eight under par including South African trio JC Ritchie, Casey Jarvis and Brandon Stone, Spanish triad Sergio Garcia, Nacho Elvira and Alejandro Del Rey, Dutchman Joost Luiten, India’s Shubhankar Sharma, New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, Frenchman Julien Guerrier and Italy’s Andrea Pavan.
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Defending champion Laurie Canter carded a one-over 73 to slip back to five under par, while last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic winner Patrick Reed bounced back with a four-under 67 to move to six under par.
Five players will return to finish their second round on Saturday morning at 7:45am local time after play was suspended due to darkness at 5:30pm.
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