Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark were the joint leaders after the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic, a shot clear of overnight leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello. Martin Kaymer, who drew close with his first hole-in-one yesterday, was further shot behind.
McIlroy, three shots back after the first round, picked up where he left off with seven birdies on his final 10 holes. He birdied his first two holes, chipped in for birdie on his eighth and saw his eagle putt on nine lip out. He is 13-under overall.
“I was never really under pressure in any point of the round,” said McIlroy, the 2009 champion who has led going into the weekend for the past four years. “This was very stress-free golf; fairways most of the time, a lot of greens, and gave myself a lot of looks. So overall, really pleased with how I played today.”
Photo: AFP
The Northern Irishman said he was most happy with his driving, after inconsistencies in that department were a factor in him finishing second at the Abu Dhabi Championship two weeks ago.
“I was very pleased with how I drove the ball today. That has been a huge positive,” he said. “Coming into this week, I didn’t feel I drove the ball well at all in Abu Dhabi. I’ve put that right for the most part and felt really confident off the tee.”
Kaymer (67) kept pace for much of the day, holding a share of the lead after 11, but then McIlroy birdied the 12th and Kaymer three-putted for a bogey on his 13th. Then, just when it looked like he might fall down the leaderboard, he made a hole-in-one, hitting an eight-iron 180 yards.
“It was very similar to yesterday, hit a lot of good tee shots, a lot of fairways, a lot of good iron shots,” Kaymer said.
Kaymer is tied for third with France’s Gergory Bourdy (67) and Scott Jamieson of Scotland (68).
Stephen Gallacher of Scotland matched McIlroy’s 65 and he was three shots off the pace alongside Marcel Siem of Germany (69) and England’s Lee Westwood (65).
A further shot back was George Coetzee of South Africa, who had five birdies and his second eagle in two days to finish with a six-under 66.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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