DUBAI: Rory McIlroy overcame windy conditions and a quadruple-bogey to keep hold of his two-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Dubai Invitational.
The World No. 2 had dominated the first day in the desert, carding a bogey-free 62 to begin the defense of his Race to Dubai title. He would not have it all his own way in round two at Dubai Creek Resort, however, going from four ahead to a four-way tie at the top after finding the water twice at the eighth.
But he is not a four-time major champion for nothing, and three birdies on the back nine saw him sign for a 70 and lead the way from German Yannik Paul and Dane Jeff Winther at 10 under.
McIlroy has a fine record in the UAE, winning three Dubai Desert Classics — including the first of his 16 DP World Tour titles in 2009 — and two DP World Tour Championships. He will defend the Hero Dubai Desert Classic title that brought him his first Rolex Series win next week and feels his game is in a good place.
“I think if I look at the other 17 holes that I played, I played very, very well again,” he said. “Hit some good iron shots, played not too dissimilarly to the way I played yesterday. I maybe holed a couple more putts yesterday but the conditions were getting a little trickier. The wind was up, greens were firm and I had a couple of miscues on the eighth hole.
“I felt like I did well just to get my head back into it and play some solid golf on the way in and everyone seemed to find it a little more difficult today than yesterday. So, it’s nice to go into the weekend still with the lead.”
In the team event, host Abdulla Al-Naboodah led the way by two shots after contributing three birdies and a par in a 67 alongside Pablo Larrazabal and will play with McIlroy in Saturday’s final team round.
Meanwhile, following the conclusion of their second rounds, legendary wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback John Elway were both full of praise for the inaugural Dubai Invitational.
“I had a blast, I had a wonderful time,” said Fitzgerald Jr, who played alongside professional Adrian Meronk in round two of the tournament and Tom McKibbin on day one. “Adrian’s a special gentleman and to watch him go out there and play today, and to play with Tom yesterday, was great.”
Elway, who played alongside Dane Thomas Bjorn on day two of the tournament, added: “The last couple of days have been tremendous. Playing with Thomas was really special and we had a lot of fun. The course is fantastic and the weather is perfect, so it’s a tremendous tournament.”
Resilient McIlroy digs deep to maintain Dubai Invitational lead
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Resilient McIlroy digs deep to maintain Dubai Invitational lead
- A tough second day for the Norther Irishman saw him hit a quadruple-bogey but still leave a two-shot gap at the top
- McIlroy has a fine record in the UAE, winning three Dubai Desert Classics
Australia crush England by 8 wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead
- Australia are now overwhelming favorites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow
BRISBANE: Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win over England in the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Sunday for an ominous 2-0 lead in the series.
Set a paltry target of 65 for victory, Australia captain Steve Smith pulled Gus Atkinson for a huge six over square leg to get the job done in style.
Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test at Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in every department.
Australia are now overwhelming favorites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.
“Great day. First two days were pretty even, game turned when we were able to extend to get the new ball under lights, that was crucial for us,” said Smith, who clashed verbally with England bowler Jofra Archer as the hosts raced to victory.
“It can be tricky with the pink ball, it changes really quickly and you have to adapt.”
For England it was more misery. Their batting, apart from Joe Root and Zak Crawley in the first innings and captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks in the second, was just as rash as in Perth.
They gave their wickets away with poor strokes on the bouncy Gabba surface.
They also bowled poorly, pitching too short and wasting the new pink ball, in stark contrast to an Australian attack missing spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
To make matters worse England dropped five catches in the first innings, whereas Australia’s fielders caught everything that came their way.
Josh Inglis’s brilliant run-out of Stokes in the first innings changed the course of the match. “Obviously very disappointing,” said Stokes.
“I think a lot of it comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game is on the line.”
England were behind the game once they let Australia’s tail help the home side post 511 on Saturday, an overall lead of 177.
They then lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end the third day 134-6, still 43 runs behind the Australian total.
While many expected England to surrender meekly on Sunday, Stokes and all-rounder Jacks led a fighting rearguard action to ensure Australia had to bat a second time.
Stokes and Jacks defied the Australian pace attack on a fiercely hot day to edge their way past the initial deficit target and begin to set Australia something to chase.
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick said Saturday his batsmen would not change their aggressive approach, despite a clatter of wickets from poor shots.
But Stokes and Jacks were patient during the first session Sunday. They left balls they didn’t need to play and seemed happy to take their runs in singles rather than expansive boundary shots.
They scored just 28 runs in the first hour and passed the 43-run deficit 96 minutes into the session, scoring only 59 runs in the two hours.
The Australian bowlers, who ran rampant under lights on Saturday with the pink ball, were far more ineffective on Sunday, despite the wicket beginning to play some tricks.
The English offered only one chance when Scott Boland squared up Stokes, who got a thick edge over the slips cordon.
They continued to frustrate the Australians in the second session until just before the drinks break Jacks got an edge to Michael Neser and Smith snared a breath-taking catch at slip, diving full length to his left and catching it low to the ground.
Neser struck again in the next over when Stokes nibbled at a ball outside the off-stump and got a fine edge to keeper Alex Carey to leave England 227-8, a lead of exactly 50.
