It’s not been vintage Rory McIlroy during the DP World Tour’s desert swing but he is confident that he can pull a rabbit out of the hat and catch Patrick Reed despite trailing the American by seven shots at the halfway stage of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
McIlroy, who beat Reed to win this tournament in 2023 before coming back from ten shots behind after 36 holes to defend his title a year later, is in midfield on two-under-par but looked more like himself as a 69 pushed him into the top-20.
The Masters champion is in familiar territory and feels the Emirates Golf Club is one of the best places for him to launch his comeback as he looks for a fifth triumph here.
“It’s up there. I came from 10 behind a couple years ago to win,” McIlroy said after mixing three bogeys with six birdies, two of which came in his last five holes to give him a much needed momentum boost in his weekend charge to catch Reed who is nine-under after a bogey-free 66 and leading Andy Sullivan by the minimum.
“If I go out there tomorrow, maybe in slightly better conditions in the morning and post a low one, then I’ll be right in the mix come Sunday.
“I feel like I gave myself plenty of opportunities, and I didn’t take maybe as many as I wanted to. I have a tee time tomorrow, and hopefully shoot a good one and get right back in contention.”
Conditions have been tricky with a swirling breeze posing a stiff challenge for the players and McIlroy feels he got to grips with the wind after struggling on Thursday.
“I felt like I did pretty well. Conditions, they got trickier as the day went on. I think as we started out there wasn’t a ton of wind, but as we got to the back nine, the wind picked up and greens are getting firm, and it’s tricky out there. So you have to pick-and-choose your spots when to be aggressive, try and take advantage of the par 5s, and I felt like I did a pretty good job of that.
“I hit a lot of good shots today. I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in. But overall, you know, it was an improvement on yesterday, and at least give myself a half a chance going into the weekend.”
McIlroy and Reed have a rivalry that dates back to the 2016 Ryder Cup as the American emerged victorious after one of the best singles ties in the history of the biennial contest. He then got the better of the Holywood man again as he ripped up the script to deny him a Masters victory in 2018.
But McIlroy landed a punch in this tournament three years ago when he held off Reed to win it for the third time. The week was fraught with controversy after McIlroy ignored him on the driving range and Reed responded by flicking a LIV Golf tee in his direction.
McIlroy later revealed that Reed had subpoenaed him on Christmas Eve and was called as a witness in Reed’s defamation case against the PGA Tour among others.
Also on the fringes of contention are Tom McKibbin and Shane Lowry who carded rounds of 70 and 71 respectively to lie in thirteenth place on three-under, six shots off the lead.
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