The Dutchman was part of the morning wave in the Middle East and when that pack had completed their laps he trailed only Nicolai Hojgaard by one shot, with Lorenzo Gagli, Thomas Pieters and Jorge Campillo one shot behind him. Surprisingly this is just a fourth tournament start for Luiten and although he missed the cut on debut in 2011 he added T13-T21 in 2016 and 2017. He is now on track to add to the top 25 tally and perhaps record a career best. He left the traps in sensational style from the tenth, ticking that hole and also the 11th and 13th. He added more red at the 18th and then continued to make progress on the front nine, ticking the first, fourth and seventh. His only error came late in the day, at the eighth, and it cost him a share of that lead with Hojgaard. He has 17 times been top three after 18 holes in his career and gained three wins from that position.