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Rory McIlroy shot a 1-under 70 at the Dubai Invitational on Friday, despite hitting a quadruple bogey at No. 7 on the eighth hole. Tommy Fleetwood is three strokes behind the leader. Watch the third round live on Sky Sports Golf from 7:30am on Friday.
12:53, UK, Friday 12 January 2024
Rory McIlroy maintained his lead at the Dubai Invitational despite a quadruple bogey in the second round of the DP World Tour.
The Northern Irishman's two-stroke advantage might have been even greater had it not been for the world No. 2 player's seven on the par-3 eighth hole, which twice hit the water.
McIlroy bravely dealt with his only drop shot in the first two rounds at Dubai Creek Resort, making three birdies on the back nine to finish the round at 1 under and move to 10 under for the tournament.
Denmark's Geoff Windsor shot a 5-under 66 to move into second place alongside Germany's Jannik Pohl, while McIlroy's Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood also joined the group of five players at 7 under. ing.
Sky Sports' Rob Lee and Tim Barter look back at Rory McIlroy's performance in the second round of the Dubai Invitational, as he finished the day on one under par and maintained his overall lead.
McIlroy, who shot an impressive 62 on Thursday, picked up where he left off with birdies on the third and fourth holes to improve his score to -11.
But disaster struck on the 214-yard 8th as McIlroy came in front, found water, and made repeated mistakes from the drop zone about 75 yards from the green.
McIlroy hit the green on his third attempt, two-putted for a 7, and briefly lost the lead.
Rory McIlroy's early dominance continued in the second round of the Dubai Invitational, with an exceptional second shot on the fourth hole.
After getting pars to close out the front nine, McIlroy used his power to birdie the par-5 10th and 13th holes to get back on the course.
On the 16th, McIlroy sank a 30-foot putt for the final birdie and returned to under par for the round.
“If you look at the other 17 holes that I played, I also played very well, hit some good iron shots, and I didn't play too different from how I played yesterday,” McIlroy said.
“Yesterday I probably could have holed a few more putts, but the wind was strong and the greens were hard, so the conditions were a little more difficult.
Rory McIlroy was delighted to finish the second round of the Dubai Invitational in first place despite a quadruple bogey on the eighth hole.
“Then I made some mistakes on the eighth hole. I just picked myself up in the middle and played some solid golf and I felt like it went well.”
“Everyone seemed to find today a little more difficult than yesterday, so I’m happy to still be in the lead going into the weekend.”
The tournament features a 72-hole stroke play tournament and will be held concurrently with a three-day pro-am team event. There are no cuts and only the pros play on Sunday.
Fleetwood, who started the round at No. 10 with a 66, also had to be patient as he dropped down the order at the turn with two bogeys.
Who enjoys their job more than the man directing traffic at today's Dubai Invitational?
The Englishman put in a strong performance with three birdies in his final six holes to climb the leaderboard and establish himself as McIlroy's most notable challenger for the weekend.
England's Jordan Smith is also in the -7 group, along with Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and South Africa's duo of Triston Lawrence and Xander Lombard.
Watch the Dubai Invitational live all week long on Sky Sports. Live coverage will continue on Sky Sports from 7.30am on Saturday. Watch McIlroy in action throughout 2024 live on Sky Sports. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, and more now.
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