Dubai Desert Classic: After day two of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which was hampered by the weather, LIV teammates Ian Poulter and Richard Bland are tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
In spite of their pre-tournament spat, McIlroy and Reed set the initial clubhouse goal on Friday at six under, only for Poulter to surpass them with a chip-in eagle on his final hole to finish with a first-round 65.
The play was stopped at 5.30 p.m. local time (1.30 p.m. GMT) owing to waning light, and Bland and Poulter were tied for first place after each shot round of three-under 68s. Bland then birdied the opening three holes of his second round to move up to eight under.
Play resumed at 7.45 am on Saturday (3.45 am GMT), and with 11 holes remaining, Angel Hidalgo sits one shot off the lead and one under for the round. Due to the delays throughout the first two days, the tournament will now end on Monday.
McIlroy achieves a stunning result.
At Emirates Golf Club, where six hours of play were lost on Thursday before Friday’s action was postponed due to a flooded course, McIlroy returned in the morning to play his final three holes in four under par to finish a spectacular opening-round 66.
World No. 1 made a birdie on the seventh hole, then made an incredible hole-out eagle from the sand at the following par-four. He then made a birdie on the last hole to tie Reed for the lead and set the initial clubhouse target.
McIlroy said, “I fought back after some very poor, rusty golf over the first sort of 14 holes. Since I don’t believe I hit enough shots to know, I don’t really know whether anything clicked when I came out today. But it was unquestionably required.”
After mixing five birdies with a lone bogey on Thursday, Reed completed his final two holes on Friday with a 15-foot eagle, leaving the American satisfied with his performance during his first competition of 2023.
Reed stated, “I’m certainly incredibly thrilled with the way I played. “It was definitely a plus to come out this week feeling like I was able to put everything together and have my mind correct on game strategy and course management.”
Due to the delays brought on by the weather, Reed and McIlroy won’t begin their second rounds until Saturday morning. No player will be able to finish their second round inside the first two days, and half of the 132-person field has yet to play more than 18 holes.
The third round will now begin on Sunday, the final round will now begin on Monday, and the second round will be finished on Saturday.
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