Rory McIlroy recovers from quadruple bogey, leads by 2 in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy recovered from a quadruple bogey to shoot a 7-under 70 Friday and maintain the lead halfway through the Dubai Invitational.

The No. 2-ranked Northern Irishman holed a nearly 30-foot putt for birdie at the par-3 16th and finished the second round with a 2-shot lead at 10-under 132 overall at Dubai Creek Resort.

Jeff Winther (66) made bogey at the 18th and joined Yannik Paul (70) in a tie for second place in the European tour event.

McIlroy surprised himself with a 62 in the first round and added back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes Friday.

Then came the par 3 eighth.

McIlroy fired his tee shot into the water and hit almost the same spot from the drop zone. He put his fifth shot onto the green but needed two putts.

“If I look at the other 17 holes that I played, I still played very, very well,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I did well just to get my head back in the swing of things and play some solid golf coming in. It's nice to go into the weekend still in the lead.”

He then made birdies on 10, 13 and 16.

“I gave myself chances for most of the back nine, which was good,” McIlroy said, “and I managed to convert a few before that tough final sequence, 17 and 18.”

Jordan Smith (67), Zander Lombard (68), Tommy Fleetwood (69), Thorbjorn Olesen (69) and Thriston Lawrence (70) were all within 3 shots of the lead.

McIlroy sees the Dubai Invitational – a tournament in a relaxed, non-stop setting and with a field of 60 players – as a gentle way to approach 2024. He once lived in Dubai and often travels there at the start of the year to refine your game.