McIlroy and Reed "Tied 7th, 2 Shots Behind"... Peters 'Leads'

DP World Tour Dubai Desert Classic Round 2

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) continued his pursuit of the championship.

Rory McIlroy is taking his second shot on the 8th hole of the second round at the Dubai Desert Classic. Dubai=AP·Yonhap News

On the 28th (local time), McIlroy added 2 under par in the second round of the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) Hero Dubai Desert Classic (total prize money $9 million) held at the Emirates Golf Club (par 72, 7,428 yards) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), placing him in a tie for 7th place (8 under par, 136 strokes). Due to severe weather, the schedule was delayed by one day, and the winner will be decided on the 30th.

McIlroy recorded one eagle, one birdie, and one bogey. After a birdie on the 3rd hole, he made a bogey on the 10th hole, then scored an eagle on the 13th hole (both par 5s). He relied on his powerful drives averaging 321 yards. He is two strokes behind the co-leaders, well within striking distance for a comeback. McIlroy, who has won 23 times on the PGA Tour including four major championships, has also secured 14 wins on the DP World Tour.

Thomas Pieters (Belgium), Richard Bland (England), and one other player share the lead (10 under par, 134 strokes), while Marcus Kinhult (Sweden) is tied for 4th place (9 under par, 135 strokes). Patrick Reed (USA), a ‘LIV Golf member’ who had a rivalry with McIlroy before the tournament, joined Ian Poulter (England) in the group tied for 7th place. Tommy Fleetwood (England) and Minwoo Lee (Australia) are tied for 22nd place (6 under par, 138 strokes), and last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Victor Perez (France) and Wang Jeonghoon are tied for 30th place (5 under par, 139 strokes).