McIlroy Makes 11 Birdies in a 63 to Move One Shot Off the Lead in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy shot a 9-under 63 in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Championship at Yas Links on Friday, making 11 birdies. The 11 birdies are the most McIlroy has recorded in a single DP World Tour round, a career best on the tour. He finished the day at 11 under for the tournament, one shot off the lead.

Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm and Francesco Laporta share that lead at 12 under. Hatton shot 65 on Friday, Rahm shot 67 and Laporta shot 70. McIlroy sits one shot back in a group that also includes Adrian Meronk, Sam Bairstow and Matt Jordan, all at 11 under after two rounds.

How the 63 was built

The round began with a bogey. McIlroy answered with three birdies in the next six holes, then made five straight birdies from the 9th hole. A second bogey came at the 14th. He answered again, with three birdies in the final four holes to close the 63. Eleven birdies against two bogeys gave him the 9-under total, and it moved him from eight shots off the lead at the start of the day to one shot off it by the finish.

That swing in position is the story of the round. On Thursday night McIlroy was eight shots behind first-round leader Laporta. By Friday afternoon the same player was one shot behind a three-man lead group that included Laporta himself.

The answer to Thursday

The 63 was a direct response to Thursday. McIlroy was given a two-shot penalty after his first round for improving his lie at the par-four 12th. His 68 became a 70, and he started Friday eight shots behind Laporta. Orbit Post reported that penalty in full on Thursday, and Friday was the follow-up on the course.

McIlroy made clear he had put the ruling behind him before he teed off. "Before I left the course, I made peace with it," he said, speaking about the first-round penalty. The scoring backed that up. A player still dwelling on a penalty does not usually open with a bogey, settle, and then run off five birdies in a row from the 9th. The bogey at the 14th gave him a second setback to answer, and he answered that one too, with three birdies across the last four holes.

The Race to Dubai picture

McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai Order of Merit title. He is trying to overtake rankings leader Eugenio Chacarra, and a round of 63 in Abu Dhabi is the kind of score that changes that fight in one day. He began Friday at 2 under after the penalty-adjusted 70. He ended it at 11 under, level with Meronk, Bairstow and Jordan, and one shot behind Hatton, Rahm and Laporta.

The numbers tell a clean story. Round one, after the penalty: 70. Round two: 63, with 11 birdies, a tour career best for McIlroy in a single round. Tournament total after two rounds: 11 under. Gap to the lead: one shot. Two days after a penalty that could have ended his week as a contender, McIlroy is back in the group chasing the leaders at Yas Links.