Scotland’s Calum Hill equaled the course record and took the half-way lead at the DP World Tour Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, with Sergio Garcia joining the fray.

Hill shot a bogey-free 61 at the Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain, recording 11 birdies, including five in the last six holes, tying the course record set by Brandon Robinson Thompson in last year’s event.

The two-time DP World Tour champion took advantage of the good morning weather with five birdies on the front nine, then added three more birdies in five holes starting at No. 10 before hitting long shots on Nos. 16 and 17 to extend his lead.

A birdie on the final hole capped the round, moving him to 16 under, four shots ahead of Germany’s Freddy Schott, while France’s Ugo Coussaud shot a 4-under 68 and was seven shots behind in third.

“Today was really good,” Hill said. “I got off to a really good start and then I made some extra putts from far away and then really got in and just kept making birdies. That was good.

“This was obviously my best round in competitive golf and championship golf. I knew the course record was 11 under, so I knew I needed to hole the last shot (to break the course record), and it looked really good in the air. I thought it had a chance, but it was long, but it was nice to finish with a birdie.”

Former Masters champion Garcia finished the day under par after bogeying the eighth hole, and the Spaniard made seven birdies over the next nine holes to jump to eight under.

Garcia joins 11 players into the weekend’s tie for fourth place, including Dubai Invitational winner Nacho Elvira, with British trio Alex Fitzpatrick, Nathan Kinsey and Ben Schmidt further behind along with Scotland’s Grant Forrest.

“It’s nice to be there since nine o’clock,” Garcia admitted. “I struggled a little bit and was obviously a little rusty. I hit some really good shots, which was nice to see. My swing still isn’t feeling great, so I definitely need to continue to improve, but I’m happy with my 66.”

Patrick Reed, winner of last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, made his first start since confirming his retirement from LIV Golf and intends to return to the PGA Tour next season. He shot a 67 in the second round and ranked 22nd.

After the game was suspended due to darkness, the five players will return to complete the second round at 7:45am local time on Saturday morning (3.45am UK time).

Watch the Bacpo Energies Bahrain Championship live on Sky Sports all weekend long. Live coverage will continue on Saturday at 9am on Sky Sports Golf Channel. Get Sky Sports or NOW live broadcast without contract.