Rory McIlroy moved a step closer to securing his eighth Race to Dubai title by fighting back from a late stumble to share the 36-hole lead with Tyrrell Hatton at the DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy secured a second-round 70 at the Jumeirah Golf Estates to reach five under par, finishing alongside clubhouse leader Hatton.
Chasing the Lead at Jumeirah Golf Estates
McIlroy initially claimed the outright lead on Friday after reaching four under par through his first 11 holes. However, a string of bogeys on the back nine dropped him down the leaderboard before he recovered with a birdie on the 18th hole. Hatton opened his round strongly with consecutive birdies, ultimately carding a three-under 69 to join McIlroy at the top, setting up a final pairing for Saturday as reported by SkySports.
Overnight leader Joost Luiten also struggled late in his round, recording consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes. Luiten finished one over for the day, dropping to four under par and tying for third place alongside Kristoffer Reitan. Meanwhile, Race to Dubai Rankings leader Eugenio Chacarra shot a one-over 71, finishing four shots behind the leaders after sinking back-to-back birdies on his final two holes, including a chip-in from off the green on the 18th. Patrick Reed experienced a difficult round, shooting a five-over 77 to drop near the bottom of the standings following six bogeys in his final six holes.
“I want to win the tournament,” McIlroy said, as quoted by SkySports. “And if I win the tournament, that’s all I can do. It doesn’t really matter what any of the other guys do, if they play well enough. But if I go and I win the first trophy on Sunday, then the second trophy should take care of itself.”
Challenging Conditions on the Earth Course
Late bogeys affected several competitors on the Earth Course. Mikael Lindberg fell off the pace after dropping two late shots, joining Freddy Schott and Victor Perez at three under par. Jon Rahm contended with fairway bunkers throughout his round, managing a second-round 71 to finish three shots behind the co-leaders.
“I was making good swings, I just couldn’t quite hit it close enough to have makeable putts,” Rahm told SkySports. “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.”
McIlroy experienced a slow start, missing early birdie chances on the first two holes before converting a short putt on the third. He added consecutive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes, utilizing strong iron play to reach the green on the seventh from 240 yards away. After adding another birdie on the 10th, McIlroy encountered trouble when he sent his tee shot left on the 12th hole and missed the green, resulting in his first bogey.
“Once you start putting yourself out of position on this golf course, this setup, these conditions, it starts to get very difficult,” McIlroy explained to SkySports. Additional bogeys followed on the 16th—where he found a fairway bunker—and the par-three 17th. He recovered on the final hole by hitting an approach from 267 yards to the center of the green, setting up a long eagle attempt before settling for a closing birdie.
Live coverage of the DP World Tour Championship continues on Saturday across SkySports platforms.
