RIYADH: Australian Jack Thompson put to rest any doubts that he would not keep his Asian Tour card for next year by charging into the lead at the halfway mark of the Saudi Open presented by PIF.

And in a boost for the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s Shergo Al-Kurdi and Moroccan amateur Adam Bresnu were among five regional competitors to make the cut into the weekend.

They qualified alongside the UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood, Qatar’s Daniil Sokolov and El-Mehdi Fakori, also of Morocco.

Thompson carded a seven-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead at the season-ending event, at Dirab Golf & Country Club just outside Riyadh.

Swede Bjorn Hellgren, playing in the same group, also fired a 65, to sit in second place while Malaysia’s Ervin Chang (64), and Runchanapong Youprayong (66) from Thailand are another stroke back.

Thompson started the week in 62nd place on the Tour’s Order of Merit, with the top-65 keeping their cards next year. He is comfortably on course to make it through with a win predicted to catapult him into seventh place.

However, there remains a long way to go and the 28-year-old from Adelaide, chasing his first win on the Asian Tour, is not getting ahead of himself.

“I mean, it’s fun to be up the top and playing because sometimes if you just make the cut or whatever, you know, obviously you’re happy to play four rounds.

“But sometimes it can be pointless, make a birdie, and might move you up a couple spots. But it’s always fun to play when it means something. So, yeah, very lucky.”

Japan’s Kazuki Higa, the Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, took a huge stride forward to finishing the year ranked No. 1 by shooting a 66 to sit five back of the leader, in joint ninth.

It means Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, in second place on the Merit list and five-under for the tournament after a 69, when he played with Higa, needs to either win the tournament or finish second to overtake the Japanese star.

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Kurdi produced a one-under-par round to move to four-under for the tournament and secure his place for the weekend. “I felt like I had it a lot better today.

“I did a little bit of work last night, just a little bit on the scoring. I still need to work on my approach game, a little bit on proximity. I might change the plan on a couple of holes.

“It is just a couple of funky tee shots where I need to build a better plan regarding the wind. But I am in a good position. I just need to stick to the plan and take good shots.”

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Bresnu signed for a round of 72 to stay at six-under-par overall, keeping himself well positioned heading into the final two days of the Saudi Open. “Today was a little bit tough for me,” he said.

“It was not like yesterday, but in golf it is never the same, that is the beauty of it. I had seven pars and missed four birdie chances inside nine feet (2.7 meters), so it was hard, but I stayed patient.

“The course was in great condition but really tough. I still have two rounds to go, and I am glad I made the cut. We will see.”