Rory McIlroy shares lead at DP World Tour Championship
McIlroy will claim the Race to Dubai title on Sunday if he wins the tournament.
Rory McIlroy stepped up his bid for a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title by moving into a share of the lead after the second round of the DP World Tour Championship.
A birdie on the 18th helped the Northern Irishman finish with a two-under-par round of 70, enough to tie at the top on five under alongside his Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton.
McIlroy will claim the Race to Dubai title on Sunday if he wins the tournament, or if he finishes second and Eugenio Chacarra, the current leader in the standings, does not win.
Chacarra fired a one-under-par 71 to stay in touch at one under for the tournament, while Jon Rahm, who could also win the Race to Dubai crown if he is victorious and McIlroy finishes no higher than third, is three shots off the pace.
Starting the day in joint-third place, McIlroy had looked in the mood to obliterate the field, with three birdies in the first 10 holes taking him to four under for the day.
Three birdies over the next six sapped his momentum, but a welcome birdie on the last left McIlroy in a strong position to match the Race’s only eight-time winner, Colin Montgomerie.
McIlroy told Sky Sports: “I played very solidly for the first 11 holes then I felt like I put myself out of position, and once you do that on this golf course it starts to get very difficult.
“If anything I started to get frustrated with the course. I’ve been coming to this course for 17 years and this is the toughest I think it’s ever played. You just have to show a little bit of patience out there.
“It’s easy to make bogeys but it’s nice to birdie the last and feel like I salvaged the day a little bit.”
Chacarra started the day in 23rd place and struggled for large parts before two consecutive birdies to finish earned him a one-under 71 and bumped him up to a share of 11th place overall.
First-round leader Joost Luiten fashioned a solitary birdie on the fifth as he struggled to maintain his earlier momentum and dropped to a share of third after a one-over 73.
Hatton’s superb 69, despite bogeys on the 10th and 17th, lifted him level with McIlroy, while the round of the day was a 68 from South Africa’s Jayden Schaper, an eagle on the second paving the way for him to move three shots off the lead.
Rahm, who would also need his compatriot Chacarra to finish no higher than ninth in order to win the Race, is lurking in joint-fifth place after a second-straight one-under round of 71.