McIlroy is swinging in the rain
TOURNAMENT host Rory McIlroy got everything he wanted apart from the weather as he tried to move into pole position to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open for the first time.
McIlroy had missed the cut in his home event for the last three years, but added a second round of 70 to his opening 67 to head into the third round a shot off the lead shared by Masters champion Danny Willett (below) and Scotland’s Marc Warren.
And, despite failing to engage the extra gear he believes is necessary to claim a first win of the season, the four-time major winner found himself leading with five holes to play before play was suspended for the second time due to bad weather.
After Willett missed from three feet for par on the second, McIlroy’s two-putt birdie on the par-five fourth gave him the outright lead for the first time, although Willett soon birdied the same hole to get back on level terms.
However, the world No.9 failed to get up and down from right of the sixth green and drove into the water on the seventh to card back-to-back bogeys, leaving McIlroy out in front.
Willett had just teed off on the 10th when the siren sounded to suspend play due to the threat of lightning in the area, with McIlroy missing a long eagle putt across the green in the group ahead. Play resumed after a 2 hour 20 minute delay and McIlroy wasted no time in tapping in for his second birdie of the day to move to nine under.
Unfortunately, only 39 minutes of play was possible before another suspension. Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello had been six under par with two to play only to find water off the tee on the 17th to run up a double bogey before the first suspension.