Doha, Qatar (SportsNetwork.com) - Rafael Cabrera-Bello carded a 1-over 73 Friday, but still managed to maintain a share of the lead of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Steve Webster carded a 2-under 70 during his second round at Doha Golf Club to meet the Spaniard atop the leaderboard at 12-under-par 204.
"It was a tougher day today, things did not go as great as they have been so far," said Cabrera-Bello. "I still feel as though I played okay, I just did not manage to score as well. It was tough with the wind, I didn't quite make the putts and struggled here and there with my chipping, but overall I got the not-so-good round out of the way and I am still in a fantastic position going into Saturday."
Adrien Saddier fired the low round of the day with an 8-under 64 to vault into a tie for third place with Thorbjorn Olesen (68) and Thomas Aiken (70) at 11- under.
Two-time Qatar Masters winner Paul Lawrie (69), Fabrizio Zanotti (68), Mikko Ilonen (71), Johan Carlsson (72) and George Coetzee (73) share sixth at 10- under 206.
World No. 11 Sergio Garcia (69), Kristoffer Broberg (70), Dawie Van Der Walt (70) and Branden Grace (71) are tied for 11th place at minus-9.
Cabrera-Bello entered the third round with a 2-stroke lead, and quickly added to his advantage with a birdie at the second to move to 14-under and push his lead to three.
A bogey at the sixth dropped him back to 13-under and Ilonen, who recorded a pair of birdies and seven pars during an outward 34, took advantage with a gain at the 10th to move within a shot of the lead at 12-under.
Cabrera-Bello answered with a birdie at the 10th to regain a 2-stroke cushion before Ilonen bogeyed the 13th to fall three shots off the pace and into a tie for second with Saddier.
Saddier had played in one of the earlier groups of the day and raced up the leaderboard with six birdies over his first seven holes. He cooled down from there and recorded just two more birdies during his bogey-free round to finish at minus-11.
Cabrera-Bello, meanwhile, found some trouble from there as he 2-putted for bogey at the 13th before dropping another shot at the 15th to fall to 12- under.
Those mistakes allowed Webster, who countered a pair of bogeys with two birdies over his first 13 holes, to claim a share of the lead when he followed a 20-foot birdie putt at the 14th with a 10-foot birdie effort at the 15th.
Webster parred his final three holes to remain at 12-under, while Cabrera- Bello also failed to move ahead with three closing pars.
"On the back nine I gave myself a few chances and I knocked in a really good putt on 11 which made things feel a little better," Webster said. "But the pins were tucked away a bit today and that's why the scores have pretty much stayed the way they were."
NOTES: Cabrera-Bello and Webster are each seeking their third career victory on the European Tour ... Cabrera-Bello's last title came at the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic, while Webster's last win came at the 2007 Portugal Masters ... Saddier is a European Tour rookie who is playing in his fifth event on tour ... Lawrie won this event in 1999 and 2012.
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