DUBAI — Rory McIlroy endured a tricky second day at the Dubai Invitational on Friday as he posted a three-over round of 74 to slip off the top of the leaderboard.
The reigning Masters champion found the water four times on a tough day as he made only two birdies, following on from his fine first-round 66 on Thursday.
McIlroy, 36, is targeting his eighth professional title in Dubai after four Dubai Desert Classic victories and three wins in the European Tour’s Tour Championship.
But now with the Northern Irishman on two-under at the halfway point, Republic of Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Spaniard Nacho Elvira sit joint-first, three shots ahead of him.
The duo both posted rounds of 68 -- the lowest of the day -- to surge into the lead, with Spain’s David Puig and England’s Marcus Armitage two shots back in joint-second.
“Very happy. It was hard. It was tricky,” Lowry said.
“If I play golf like that for the rest of the season in that frame of mind, I’ll be pretty good.”
On a windy day at Dubai Creek, eagles were at a premium, however, American Ryggs Johnston overcame the conditions to sink a hole-in-one at the 218-yard par three eighth hole.
Meanwhile, defending champion Nick Taylor carded eight birdies without a bogey to share the first-round lead with Kevin Roy in the US PGA Tour’s season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii.
Canada’s Taylor, who topped Colombian Nico Echavarria in a playoff last year at Waialae Country Club, birdied three of the four par-threes, crediting sharp iron play after some effective off-season practice and a start in the Nedbank Challenge in December.
“Felt like my game was sharp coming over here,” Taylor said. “Coming to a course I’m comfortable with definitely helps.”
Taylor teed off on 10 and birdied 11 and 12 before stringing together three straight birdies at 15, 16 and 17. He picked up strokes at the second and seventh before a two-putt birdie at the par-five ninth for his share of the lead.
Like Taylor, Roy was among the early starters greeted by benign conditions and piled up seven birdies in the first 11 holes. That included four in a row from the eighth through the 11th. He closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th.
Roy said he settled in after a “squirrely” start that saw him having to make a couple of testing par putts at the first two holes.
“It’s huge to see those putts go in,” he said. “Just carried that momentum the rest of the round.”
The tournament is the season-opener only because The Sentry, the former Tournament of Champions that usually opens the year at Kapalua on Maui, was cancelled due to drought and water use restrictions affecting the course.
Taylor and Roy were a stroke clear of a group on 63, headlined by American Ben Griffin.
Griffin, who won three titles last year and made his Ryder Cup debut, had seven birdies without a bogey.
He was tied with Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, Jon VanDerLaan and South Korean Kim Seong-hyeon.