DP World Tour Championship second-round leaderboard
-5 T Hatton (Eng), R McIlroy (NI); -4 K Reitan (Nor), J Luiten (Ned); -3 M Lindberg (Swe), F Schott (Ger), V Perez (Fra); -2 J Schaper (SA), J Rahm (Spa), D Puig (Spa)
Selected others: -1 E Chacarra (Spa); E A Scott (Aus), C Hill (Sco); +3 T Fleetwood (Eng); +6 A Rai (Eng); +8 P Reed (US)
Full leaderboard
Rory McIlroy is tied for the lead at the halfway mark of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship as he chases a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title.
The six-time major winner followed a three-under opening 69 with an up-and-down 70 to join England’s Tyrrell Hatton at the top at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Hatton mixed five birdies and two bogeys to shoot 69, while overnight leader Joost Luiten carded a 73 to lie one shot back alongside Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.
McIlroy, who is guaranteed to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record haul of eight season-long crowns with victory this week, sits four shots ahead of Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra.
The Spaniard, who won three times earlier this season to lead the standings entering this week, birdied his final two holes to finish one under.
“I think it’s been a bit eye-opening to see the scoring the first two days,” said world number two McIlroy.
“I don’t think the wind is supposed to be as up over the weekend, so the scoring might be a little bit better.
“As I said, the scoring this week, because of this course set-up, just isn’t as good as in previous years. I’ve been coming back to the golf course for 15 plus years, and you just associate this course with pretty low scoring.
“And then when it’s not, you just have to reframe what is a good score. Anything in the 60s, it seems, this week is a good score.”
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