Skip to content A roaring 290-yard three-wood into the 18th green launched Rory McIlroy into a share of the DP World Tour Championship lead on Friday, putting him in prime position to seize another European season crown. The Northern Irishman carded a two-putt birdie on the home hole to reach 5 under par through 36 holes, matching Englishman Tyrrell Hatton atop the leaderboard at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
That closing birdie did far more than settle Friday’s scorecard. Because McIlroy entered the week trailing Eugenio Chacarra in the season standings, his place atop the tournament leaderboard moves him into the projected top spot in the Race to Dubai. If McIlroy finishes the job over the weekend, he will secure his eighth season-long European title and pull level with Colin Montgomerie for the all-time record.
Also read: DP World Tour Championship: McIlroy, Hatton Share Lead
The stakes could hardly be higher for the world No. 2, who has captured the season crown in four straight campaigns. Yet Friday tested his patience as thoroughly as any round he has played in the desert this year.
Battling the baked greens at the DP World Tour Championship
McIlroy looked poised to run away from the field early in his second round. He turned in 3 under par, then added another birdie on the par-4 10th to build a comfortable cushion. But the Earth Course pushed back with firm turf, tricky lies and gusting winds that punished minor miscalculations.
Three bogeys on the back nine suddenly wiped out his momentum. Successive dropped shots on the 16th and 17th holes briefly knocked him out of top spot entirely. While his frustration mounted, McIlroy regrouped on the par-5 18th with a 178 mph strike from the fairway that set up his closing birdie.
“I think, as well, I’ve been coming to this golf course for 17 years, and this is the toughest I think it’s ever played.”
After signing his card, McIlroy admitted that the drying conditions tested his composure. He explained that fairways were producing awkward lies while the putting surfaces became bumpy late in the day. Instead of firing low numbers, players had to grind for pars.
“In my mind it’s sort of like, well, you should be going out and shooting 66 or 65, and the course just isn’t set up that way this week,” McIlroy said. “And you just have to show a little bit more patience out there.”
How McIlroy took control of the Race to Dubai
Before this finale began, Chacarra held the upper hand in the season-long race. The 26-year-old Spaniard arrived in the United Arab Emirates clinging to the top spot, forcing McIlroy into an aggressive pursuit. By climbing to 5 under, McIlroy flipped the math and now controls his own destiny over the final 36 holes.
Hatton matched him shot for shot on Friday, setting up an all-European Ryder Cup duel in Saturday’s final pairing. The Englishman sits at 5 under par alongside McIlroy, giving the weekend an intense edge right at the summit.
Still, McIlroy cannot afford to watch only his playing partner. Every dropped shot shifts the projected points totals, and the chasing pack sits close enough to turn the order of merit upside down with one hot round.
Chacarra stays alive at the DP World Tour Championship
Chacarra refused to let his season title hopes slip away on Friday afternoon. The young Spaniard endured a turbulent opening two days, mixing 10 birdies with nine bogeys across 36 volatile holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates. But he produced magic on the final two holes to salvage his week.
After rolling in a birdie on the par-3 17th, Chacarra chipped in for birdie on the 18th to sign for 1 under par. That late flurry lifted him into a tie for 11th place, just four strokes behind McIlroy and Hatton.
“It’s just what it is. I knew it was going to happen,” Chacarra said of McIlroy’s charge. “It’s one of the favorite courses of Rory, and he’s had so much success in here. He’s obviously one of the best players in the world. So, we know it’s going to be tough.”
Can the Spaniard clean up his mistakes before Sunday? Chacarra believes his aggressive ball-striking can still deliver the trophy if he eliminates the loose bogeys that plagued his first two rounds.
What Jon Rahm brings to the weekend chase
Lurking just one shot ahead of Chacarra is Jon Rahm, who sits in a tie for eighth at 2 under par. Rahm posted consecutive rounds of 71 strokes, staying within striking distance despite battling tricky wind gusts that baffled his approach play.
The two-time major winner arrives fresh off a victory in Abu Dhabi last week. Although Rahm did not compete full-time on the European circuit this year, that triumph gave him an outside shot at stealing the season crown. He is also a three-time champion of this event, and all three of those victories required weekend rallies from similar deficits.
Rahm noted that his swing felt pure even when the wind refused to cooperate on his irons. If his putter warms up, the Basque star has proven he can erase a three-stroke gap over 18 holes, let alone 36.
McIlroy and Hatton tee off together in Saturday’s final group at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with third-round action underway as the chase for European supremacy hits the homestretch.
Source: CBS Sports
