Three birdies in the first four holes put Eddie Pepperell inside the top-ten at one stage during his weather-hit second round in the Abu Dhabi Championship today.

The Frilford Heath golfer was able to play only nine holes after fog delayed the start of play by more than two hours.

When his round eventually began, Pepperell got off to a flying start to stand on five-under par in equal eighth spot, level with world No 3 Rory McIlroy.

A dropped shot at the ninth meant he finished the day on four under – six shots behind leader England’s Andy Sullivan, who shot a second successive 67.