Rory McIlroy remains at the summit of the leaderboard after the second round of the 25th Omega Dubai Desert Classic, but was frustrated at not ensuring of a comfortable lead at the halfway stage, after settling for a two-under round of 70 on Friday afternoon to leave the two-time major champion at 11-under and one shot ahead of America’s Brooks Koepka.
On Thursday, the Northern Irishman was in imperious form when posting an opening round of 63, but the second round would prove to be more of a grind. After starting the round with his first bogey of the week, McIlroy would then make birdies at the third, fifth, seventh and 10th, but failed to pull clear of the field after bogeys on the 13th and 16th, before finishing with a closing birdie to hold sole-possession of the 36-hole lead. However, the 24-year-old admitted that he believed that he would take a firm grip of the tournament after his front-nine.
“I thought so, yes,” McIlroy said. “Making a few birdies on the front nine and turning two under par was a good effort, especially as the wind started to get up.
“I birdied ten, played 11 and 12 okay but then missed that little one on 13, had a chance on 15 and didn't convert and made bogey on 16, but it was nice to birdie the last and at least give myself a one shot lead going into tomorrow.”
It could have been more, but he is in strong position to claim this title for a second time. Five years ago, a then 19-year-old McIlroy would claim his first professional win in Dubai after leading wire-to-wire. He now has an opportunity to repeat that achievement over the weekend, and he is fully confident that he will do so.
“I do. I am leading the tournament”, McIlroy added. “I've been in this position before and went on to win.
“I have led from the front quite well in tournaments that I have won. I feel like I am still playing well, I know the course as well as anyone else and I expect to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend and hopefully lift the trophy.”
23-year-old Floridian Koepka, who won three times on the Challenge Tour before progression onto the main circuit last year, shot a flawless second round of 65 to move to within two shots of McIlroy, as he seeks to reaffirm his status as one of America’s most promising young players.
“I’ve never played with Rory, so it’s going to be fun”, Koepka said. “I know him a little bit from seeing him around, so hopefully I’ll be able to play as well as I did today.
“I putted really well today. Yesterday I didn’t putt very well, but today my putter came through for me. I’m striking the ball really well, and I also chipped well today. So everything’s going well, I can't complain.”
Another player with little to complain about is Henrik Stenson, who is just four shots off the lead at the halfway stage. The Swede, who made history by winning the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai last year, looked back to his best on Friday after a bogey-free 67 positioned him at seven-under alongside a group that includes the defending champion Stephen Gallacher.
“I think there is still a little way to go but today was the best I have putted for a long, long time,” said Stenson.
“I was threatening on every putt and kept the score together with no bogeys, which is always a good sign.”
England’s Danny Willett, who was part of the first group off at the 10th at 07:15, produced eight birdies in a scintillating round of 65 that leaves him just three back of McIlroy. The 26-year-old began his week in Dubai in unique fashion, after jumping out of a plane for a charity skydive.
“It was a different way to start the week, but if you are standing on the first tee trying to hit a drive onto the fairway it seems a little less nerve-racking than jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet, so it might have prepared me quite well,” Willett said.
“As soon as you jump out you think 'What are we doing?', but after that you level out and start to feel like you are just floating down and it's unbelievable.”
After that daring feat, competing against the likes of McIlroy is unlikely to phase you. However, the one-time winner on the European Tour admitted that the early start on Friday was just a little disconcerting.
“A half-four alarm is never great but it's a great time to play golf in the desert.
“The back nine is the scoreable nine and I was really, really clinical, didn't miss a green, hit a couple of par fives in two and it was a real easy six under. The front nine gets a little trickier with the breeze and the doglegs but all in all it is two good days' work.”
The cutline fell at two-under, with world number one Tiger Woods struggling with his driver on route to a second round of 73 that left him uncomfortably close to a Friday exit at three-under. The 38-year-old has hit just 11 of 28 fairways at the Emirates Golf Club this week, and he will be hoping to see discernable improvement over the weekend.
With the remaining field separated by nine shots, they are all gunning to shoot down Rory in the desert.