Antoine Rozner tops a star-studded leaderboard at the halfway stage of the DP World Tour Championship, with Rory McIlroy a shot back after being unable to build on his fast start.
McIlroy surged ahead with four birdies in his first seven holes on Friday at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, only to bogey two of his next three holes and lose his lead after Rozner carded a round-of-the-day 65 to set the clubhouse target on nine under.
The Race to Dubai leader – who will secure the season-long title for a sixth time if Thriston Lawrence doesn’t win this week – birdied the last to close a three-under 69, leaving him tied-second alongside playing partner Tyrrell Hatton, with Joaquin Niemann two strokes back in fourth.
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McIlroy showed his frustration after a sequence of bad shots resulted in a bogey at the par-four tenth during his second round in Dubai.
Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are in the group on six under and three behind Rozner, with last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring briefly share the lead before slipping four back after a one-under 71.
Rozner holds halfway lead in season finale
McIlroy made the first move by firing his approach to tap-in range at the first, then responded to a three-putt par at the next – having reached the par-five green in two – to drain a 25-foot birdie at the par-four third.
The Northern Irishman added another from seven feet at the par-three fourth and made a two-putt birdie at the par-five seventh, lifting him two clear, only to card a three-putt bogey on the eighth hole after pushing his initial putt some six feet past the hole.
McIlroy is looking to win the DP World Tour Championship for the third time
McIlroy got up and down from the sand to scramble a par at the ninth and reach the turn tied for the lead alongside Waring, who carded four birdies in a front-nine 32, with Rozner moving alongside them on eight under after an excellent run of scoring.
Rozner holed from 25 feet at the ninth to start a run of three consecutive birdies and picked up a shot at the 14th, with the world No 154 converting from 20 feet at the 15th to temporarily make it a three-way tie.
Waring bogeyed the 10th after being disrupted by a spectator on the backswing of his second shot, while McIlroy was left frustrated when he dropped a shot on the same hole after a wayward tee shot into a horror lie.
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Paul Waring was bemused after a fan shouted out on his downswing during his second round.
McIlroy failed to convert birdie opportunities from inside 10 feet on his next two holes, as Rozner left himself a kick-in birdie – after almost holing his approach into the 16th – to move two ahead and closed his round with back-to-back pars.
Hatton initially struggled to match playing partner McIlroy, three-putting for bogey at the fourth before rolling in a 45-footer at the sixth for the first of two birdies in three holes, with further gains at the 10th and 15th taking him within one of Rozner.
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Tyrrell Hatton holed a huge birdie putt at the par-three sixth – one of he made on Friday in Dubai.
Two perfect shots into the par-five 18th left McIlroy with a 15-foot eagle attempt for a share of the lead, only for him to miss the putt and settle for his only birdie of the back nine, while Hatton also remained one back after laying up and finishing with a par.
Keita Nakajima and Jesper Svensson joined Lowry and Hojgaard on six under, while Dubai resident Tommy Fleetwood lies tied-ninth alongside Matt Wallace and Waring, with 20 of the 50-man field within six strokes of the halfway lead.
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Matt Wallace produced a contender for miss of the season after squandering a glorious birdie opportunity in his second round.
Lawrence – the only player who can catch McIlroy in the Race to Dubai rankings with a victory – is nine adrift and in tied-34th after finishing his second-round 71 with a final-hole bogey.
Hatton ‘frustrated’ as McIlroy rues missed chances
Rory McIlroy: “I got off to a great start, four under through seven. I was feeling like I was in total control of what I was doing and then I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn. When you start missing fairways the way the course is set up this week, you’re going to start to struggle.
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McIlroy reflects on his second-round 69 in Dubai and where he needs to improve over the weekend to challenge 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 under is a pretty acceptable score all things considered but naturally you want to be better, so I guess it’s fair to say I’m pretty frustrated. Taking the positives from two days where I don’t feel like I’ve played the kind of golf I’m capable of and I’m 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.”
Hatton has finished first and second in his last two DP World Tour starts
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.”
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