Dubai, 14 November: Rory McIlroy shot a second-round 70 to share the halfway lead with Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton at the DP World Tour Championship. Both are on five-under-par, and McIlroy stays in the hunt for a record-tying eighth Race to Dubai title.
McIlroy birdied three of his first eight holes and added another at the tenth. Windy conditions then made the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates hard going. Bogeys at the 12th, 16th and 17th threatened to undo his work, but a birdie at the last put him level with Hatton, who had set the clubhouse target earlier in the afternoon.
Race to Dubai
Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra is tied 11th at one-under after two rounds. McIlroy is currently projected to top the ranking and win his fifth straight Race to Dubai title. He has won this tournament three times and lost a play-off to Matt Fitzpatrick last year. A fourth win at the venue would secure both the tournament and the Harry Vardon Trophy.
“I’ve been coming to this golf course for 17 years, and this is the toughest I think it’s ever played,” McIlroy said. “It’s very easy to make bogeys out there. It’s very, very tricky once you get yourself out of position.”
On the title race, he said: “I want to win this tournament. If I win the tournament, that’s all I can do. It doesn’t really matter what any of the other guys do.”
Hatton’s 69
Hatton, an eight-time DP World Tour winner, is looking for his first win in this event after several close finishes. He birdied the first, second and ninth holes to reach the turn in 33, bogeyed the tenth, then finished birdie-par-bogey-birdie for a 69.
“Overall it was pretty solid,” Hatton said. He added that he had struggled with a couple of tee shots, as he had in round one in Abu Dhabi last week, and felt uncomfortable with the driver for the rest of the round.
The chasing group
First-round leader Joost Luiten is one shot behind at four-under, alongside Kristoffer Reitan. Mikael Lindberg, Freddy Schott and Victor Perez are another shot back. Three-time winner Jon Rahm is well placed with fellow Spaniard David Puig and South Africa’s Jayden Schaper.
Chacarra said he was hitting the ball well. “If I can clean up the card a little, I like my chance on the weekend,” he said.
Earlier: Chacarra faces McIlroy in the Race to Dubai showdown. More international golf news.