Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton are one shot behind leader Antoine Rozner at the halfway stage of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Frenchman Rozner carded a bogey-free seven-under 65 to move to nine under par, with Northern Ireland’s McIlroy and England’s Hatton adding 69s to their opening 67s.
McIlroy’s good start to the tournament means he is almost certain of winning a third successive Race to Dubai title – and sixth in total.
His only rival for the trophy, South African Thriston Lawrence, is 34th on level par. Lawrence would need to win and hope McIlroy finishes outside the top 11 to take the overall title.
McIlroy, 35, was in excellent form early on Friday with four birdies in his first seven holes, only to then bogey two of his next three holes.
“I was a little bit disappointed I couldn’t kick-on after such a great start,” McIlroy told BBC Sport.
“I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn – not by much either – but the rough is so thick that you lose all control of your golf ball if you hit it in there.”
McIlroy added his only focus is securing a third title at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and not the prospect of winning the Race to Dubai.
“At this point I’m just trying to win the golf tournament. If I win the golf tournament, then everything else that happens alongside that is nice,” he said.
Hatton, meanwhile, said he was “frustrated” with how he played as he was unable to match the form of playing partner McIlroy. But he acknowledged his place on the leaderboard is positive.
“Scoring has not gone too low,” the 33-year-old told BBC Sport. “In previous years, scoring would be a little bit better than what it is this year, so that’s probably helped me.”
Joaquin Niemann is two strokes back in fourth place, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry joins three other players on six under.
Paul Waring, who needs a strong finish this weekend to secure one of 10 PGA Tour cards, is four shots adrift of Rozner, alongside fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace.
