Rory McIlroy rebounded from a first-round penalty controversy by making 11 birdies and shooting 9-under 63 at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday. The Masters champion was 11 under overall after two rounds as play continued at Yas Links. "The course is very gettable today, there's not a lot of wind. A lot of opportunities," McIlroy said. "I would say I'll be at least two or three behind going into tomorrow. But it's still in a much better position than I thought I would be."
On Thursday, McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty after his first round when officials ruled he had improved his lie on a hole where he made double-bogey. He posted a 2-under 70 to be eight shots off the lead, held by Francesco Laporta. "Before I left the course, I made peace with it. I didn't dwell on it," McIlroy said Friday. "I'd much rather be two shots worse off than be called a cheat. At least I went out today and it wasn't playing on my mind. I had a clear conscience and I could just go and play."
The Northern Irishman's second round started with a bogey but he made three birdies through the next six holes before five straight birdies from No. 9. McIlroy's second bogey -- on the 14th -- was followed by three birdies on the final four holes. "I did everything well. I drove the ball well. I hit my irons well. I putted a little bit better," he said. "I saw a few more putts go in, which is something that I haven't been seeing for the last couple months." He said he worked on his putting last week with Brad Faxon.
Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm and Francesco Laporta are in a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at 12 under after two rounds of play. Hatton made eight birdies in his round of 65 but missed a par putt on the 16th. "Obviously there's been a couple of mistakes, but overall compared to where I've been at over the last month and a half, it's nice to put a couple of decent scores together again," the Englishman said. Matthew Jordan, Adrian Meronk and Sam Bairstow are tied with McIlroy at 11 under. The subplot in this next-to-last event of the 2026 season is the fight for the Race to Dubai title, which crowns the No. 1 player on the European tour each year. It looks to be down to McIlroy, Patrick Reed (71) and Eugenio Chacarra (71), the current leader in the standings. McIlroy is seeking a fifth straight Race to Dubai title to move level on the career list at eight with Colin Montgomerie, who won the award when it was called the Order of Merit.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing