McIlroy stalls as Nicolai Hojgaard takes the lead at DP World Tour Championship
Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard holds the lead heading into the weekend of the DP World Tour's season finale, following a stunning finish to round two.
Nicolai Højgaard will take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the DP World Tour Championship after a stunning finish to his second round at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Højgaard, 22, started day two as the joint leader alongside Julien Guerrier and Matthieu Pavon but began his round with back-to-back bogeys, which saw him tumble down the leaderboard.
The two-time winner on the DP World Tour fought back in dramatic fashion, though, to make the turn in level par.
He then proceeded to birdie the 10th hole before adding two more birdies on the 13th and 15th. The Dane then finished in style by going 3-under for his last two holes, closing out his round with an excellent eagle on the final hole.
A 6-under 66 leaves Hojgaard two shots clear of a chasing pack that includes fellow Ryder Cup teammates Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood, as well as Thriston Lawrence, Antoine Rozner and Jens Dantorp.
The young European has been in fine form this season, recording eight top tens in the 2023 - including a runner-up finish at last week's Nedbank Golf Challenge - with three top fives in his last four DP World Tour starts.
Discussing his second round, Hojgaard said:
I trust my game at the moment. It's been a little bit shaky at times this year, but I feel like we're on track at the moment. I feel like I've got confidence in my shots, the selections of shots, the game plan we've put in place every round."
Further down the leaderboard, the 2023 Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy endured another frustrating round, finishing level par for the day. McIlroy carded three birdies on the front nine, but unfortunately, they were joined by three bogeys, one coming on the front nine and two on the back.
Having also struggled to find his best form on Thursday, the Northern Irishman currently sits tied for 34 on the leaderboard alongside Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Vincent Norman and Adrian Otaegui.
