Rory McIlroy miles off the pace at halfway stage of Dubai Desert Classic
American Cameron Young will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic as defending champion Rory McIlroy fell way off the pace.
American Cameron Young will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic as defending champion Rory McIlroy fell way off the pace.
Young carded an opening round of 67 at Emirates Golf Club and added a second round of 8-under 64 to reach 13-under.
England's Andy Sullivan and Poland's Adrian Meronk - who defeated McIlroy to the player of the year title - are third on 10-under.
McIlroy is seeking a record fourth win in this event but it looks as though he will be made to wait for another crack next year.
The Northern Irishman made five birdies and three bogeys in his second round of 70 which saw him 10 strokes off the lead on 3-under.
Young is yet to win on the PGA or DP World Tour but he was superb on Friday, carding nine birdies and one solitary bogey at the ninth hole after hitting his second shot into the water.
Back-to-back 181 mph drives from Cam Young #DubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/6vroGeHzyI
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 19, 2024
What they said...
Cameron Young:
Adrian Meronk:
Andy Sullivan:
Leaderboard after 36 holes:
C. Young -13
A. Sullivan, A. Meronk -10
R. Ramsay, N. Hojgaard, R. Hojgaard -7
L. De Jager, A. Cockerill, M. Lorenzo-Vera, T. Olesen, Z. Lombard, M. Kawamura, H. Li, R. Mansell -6
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