Rory McIlroy shares the 36-hole lead with Tyrrell Hatton at 5-under at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
McIlroy birdied his final hole and shot 2-under in the second round Friday to pull even with Hatton in gusty conditions at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
McIlroy is chasing his eighth Race to Dubai golf title, awarded to the No. 1 player on the European tour, and recovered after wobbling with three bogeys on a stretch of six holes on the back nine Friday.
“It’s very easy to make bogeys out there,” McIlroy said. “Just a little bit off, you know, if you miss a fairway, or even if you miss a green, the lies around the greens aren’t very good. And then you’re sort of having to think about are you going to try to putt it or chip it or bump and run it or fly it.
“It’s very, very tricky once you get yourself out of position. So, easy to make bogeys, but it was nice to at least birdie the last and feel like I sort of salvaged the day a little bit with that birdie.”
Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra is currently ahead of Northern Ireland’s McIlroy on the Race to Dubai points list and remained in contention for the title with a chip-in birdie on the final hole in the second round.
“If I can clean up the card a little, I like my chance on the weekend,” said Chacarra, who is tied for 11th at 1-under.
England’s Hatton was concerned that McIlroy could run away from the field in the second round before the bogey barrage brought him back to the pack. But based on his track record at Dubai, the pressure isn’t on McIlroy, from Hatton’s perspective.
“He’s got an amazing record around this golf course. It just sets up pretty well for him,” Hatton said. “I’m happy enough with where I’m placed after two rounds. Hopefully I can play better over the weekend and give myself more birdie opportunities.”
The winner of the event claims 2,000 points, plenty to close the 534-point gap that separates McIlroy and Chacarra. The points dwindle by finish in the tournament, with 1,335 for second place and 752 for third.
In 30 points-eligible events, Chacarra has 4,243.79 points to lead McIlroy (3,709.86).
McIlroy is taking nothing for granted given the conditions.
“I’ve been coming to this golf course for 17 years, and this is the toughest I think it’s ever played,” he said.
Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed entered the week as Race to Dubai title contenders. Reed might have lost a handle on any trophy chance he held with a 77 in the second round that pushed him 13 shots off the lead at 8-over through 36 holes.
Rahm is three shots back for the tournament. His goal for the weekend is to dial in his approach to leave a chance for birdie and climb the leaderboard.
“I was making good swings, I just couldn’t quite hit it close enough to have makeable putts,” Rahm said of his Friday round. “I hit loads of greens, I was just never — constantly over 30 feet. It’s going to be hard to make putts like that. So it’s a bit of a survival day.”
–Field Level Media
