Mcilroy Continues Charge For Race To Dubai Title

DP World Tour Championship leaderboard

-12 N Hojgaard (Den); -9 R McIlroy (NI), D Hillier (Aus), J Rose (Eng), S Lowry (Ire), R Neergaard-Petersen (Den) -8 T Fleetwood (Eng), L Canter (Eng), R MacIntyre (Sco), A Noren (Swe)

Selected others: -7 T Hatton (Eng); -6 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Parry (Eng); -5 G Forest (Sco), E Ferguson (Sco); E M Penge (Eng)

Rory McIlroy continued his complaint for his seventh Race to Dubai title aft a beardown 2nd information astatine nan DP World Tour Championship.

The Northern Irishman deed a three-under 69 to beryllium successful a five-man necktie for 2nd - alongside nan likes of Ireland's Shane Lowry and England's Justin Rose - connected 9 nether par.

The chasing battalion are 3 strokes down Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, who fired 65 connected time 2 successful nan United Arab Emirates.

"I had to conflict a small much today," said McIlroy, who mixed six birdies and 3 bogeys successful his 2nd information display.

"I felt for illustration I showed my scoring skills and stayed patient, and sewage nan shot up and down erstwhile I needed to.

"And overall, to sprout 69, I'm beautiful pleased considering immoderate of nan spots that I recovered myself."

The 36-year-old has a 767-point lead astatine nan apical of nan season-long rankings for his 4th consecutive Race to Dubai title.

Only English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Marco Penge tin extremity McIlroy from winning nan season-long competition, formerly known arsenic nan European Tour's Order of Merit, but they beryllium joint-11th and joint-44th respectively.

McIlroy's chap Ryder Cup victor Tommy Fleetwood is 1 of 4 players connected eight-under and ended a singular tally of 68 consecutive holes without a bogey erstwhile he dropped a changeable astatine nan 12th hole.

He is joined successful a necktie for seventh alongside Robert MacIntyre, Alex Noren and Laurie Canter, while Tyrrell Hatton is 1 changeable further back.