Antoine Rozner tops a star-studded leaderboard on the midway stage of the DP World Tour Championship, with Rory McIlroy a shot again after being unable to construct on his quick begin.
McIlroy surged forward with 4 birdies in his first seven holes on Friday at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, solely to bogey two of his subsequent three holes and lose his lead after Rozner carded a round-of-the-day 65 to set the clubhouse goal on 9 beneath.
The Race to Dubai chief – who will safe the season-long title for a sixth time if Thriston Lawrence would not win this week – birdied the final to shut a three-under 69, leaving him tied-second alongside taking part in companion Tyrrell Hatton, with Joaquin Niemann two strokes again in fourth.
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McIlroy confirmed his frustration after a sequence of dangerous photographs resulted in a bogey on the par-four tenth throughout his second spherical in Dubai.
Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are within the group on six beneath and three behind Rozner, with final week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring briefly share the lead earlier than slipping 4 again after a one-under 71.
Rozner holds midway lead in season finale
McIlroy made the primary transfer by firing his strategy to tap-in vary on the first, then responded to a three-putt par on the subsequent – having reached the par-five inexperienced in two – to empty a 25-foot birdie on the par-four third.
The Northern Irishman added one other from seven toes on the par-three fourth and made a two-putt birdie on the par-five seventh, lifting him two clear, solely to card a three-putt bogey on the eighth gap after pushing his preliminary putt some six toes previous the opening.
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McIlroy is trying to win the DP World Tour Championship for the third time
McIlroy received up and down from the sand to scramble a par on the ninth and attain the flip tied for the lead alongside Waring, who carded 4 birdies in a front-nine 32, with Rozner shifting alongside them on eight beneath after a wonderful run of scoring.
Rozner holed from 25 toes on the ninth to begin a run of three consecutive birdies and picked up a shot on the 14th, with the world No 154 changing from 20 toes on the fifteenth to quickly make it a three-way tie.
Waring bogeyed the tenth after being disrupted by a spectator on the backswing of his second shot, whereas McIlroy was left annoyed when he dropped a shot on the identical gap after a wayward tee shot right into a horror lie.
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Paul Waring was bemused after a fan shouted out on his downswing throughout his second spherical.
McIlroy didn’t convert birdie alternatives from inside 10 toes on his subsequent two holes, as Rozner left himself a kick-in birdie – after nearly holing his strategy into the sixteenth – to maneuver two forward and closed his spherical with back-to-back pars.
Hatton initially struggled to match taking part in companion McIlroy, three-putting for bogey on the fourth earlier than rolling in a 45-footer on the sixth for the primary of two birdies in three holes, with additional beneficial properties on the tenth and fifteenth taking him inside certainly one of Rozner.
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Tyrrell Hatton holed an enormous birdie putt on the par-three sixth – certainly one of he made on Friday in Dubai.
Two good photographs into the par-five 18th left McIlroy with a 15-foot eagle try for a share of the lead, just for him to overlook the putt and accept his solely birdie of the again 9, whereas Hatton additionally remained one again after laying up and ending with a par.
Keita Nakajima and Jesper Svensson joined Lowry and Hojgaard on six beneath, whereas Dubai resident Tommy Fleetwood lies tied-ninth alongside Matt Wallace and Waring, with 20 of the 50-man discipline inside six strokes of the midway lead.
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Matt Wallace produced a contender for miss of the season after squandering a wonderful birdie alternative in his second spherical.
Lawrence – the one participant who can catch McIlroy within the Race to Dubai rankings with a victory – is 9 adrift and in tied-Thirty fourth after ending his second-round 71 with a final-hole bogey.
Hatton ‘annoyed’ as McIlroy rues missed possibilities
Rory McIlroy: “I received off to an amazing begin, 4 beneath by means of seven. I used to be feeling like I used to be in whole management of what I used to be doing after which I simply began to overlook a couple of fairways across the flip. If you begin lacking fairways the way in which the course is ready up this week, you are going to begin to battle.
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McIlroy displays on his second-round 69 in Dubai and the place he wants to enhance over the weekend to problem for victory.
“So I made two bogeys in the next three holes, I steadied the ship a little bit, but felt like I let a couple of chances slip by on 14 and 15, but played the last three holes well. It was nice to finish with a birdie and at least shoot something in the sixties.”
Tyrrell Hatton: “Three beneath is a fairly acceptable rating all issues thought of however naturally you wish to be higher, so I suppose it is honest to say I am fairly annoyed. Taking the positives from two days the place I do not really feel like I’ve performed the type of golf I am able to and I am one shot off the lead.
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“Hopefully I can find something and hit it a little bit better and that will make this weekend more exciting for me but I’ll go out there and give it my best over the next few days and just hope something clicks.”
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Hatton has completed first and second in his final two DP World Tour begins
Antoine Rozner: “I’m going to try to focus on having two solid days and see how it goes at the end. I think if I can have a chance on Sunday to either win it or get one of those [PGA Tour] cards, it would be great. I’ve been playing really well the last few months. Let’s take advantage of it.”
Who will win the DP World Tour Championship? Watch all through the weekend stay on Sky Sports activities. Dwell protection continues on Saturday from 7am on Sky Sports activities Golf. Stream the DP World Tour and extra with NOW.
