DP World Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton one behind Antoine Rozner in Race to Dubai finale | Golf Information

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 underneath.

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 enjoying companion Tyrrell Hatton, with Joaquin Niemann two strokes again in fourth.

Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are within the group on six underneath 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 method 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.

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 underneath after a wonderful run of scoring.

Rozner holed from 25 toes on the ninth to start out 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 briefly 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.

McIlroy didn’t convert birdie alternatives from inside 10 toes on his subsequent two holes, as Rozner left himself a kick-in birdie – after virtually holing his method into the sixteenth – to maneuver two forward and closed his spherical with back-to-back pars.

Hatton initially struggled to match enjoying 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 positive factors on the tenth and fifteenth taking him inside one in all Rozner.

Two good pictures 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 underneath, whereas Dubai resident Tommy Fleetwood lies tied-ninth alongside Matt Wallace and Waring, with 20 of the 50-man subject inside six strokes of the midway lead.

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 a fantastic begin, 4 underneath via 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 just a few fairways across the flip. While you begin lacking fairways the best way the course is ready up this week, you are going to begin to wrestle.

“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.”

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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