Sunday 24 January 2016 14:43, UK
Rory McIlroy staged a dramatic finish to his second round after another lengthy fog delay disrupted the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
McIlroy was one over for his round and struggling for rhythm when play was suspended due to darkness, leaving him, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler with five holes to complete on Saturday morning.
But the fog that delayed the start of day two rolled in again, causing a further hold up of almost three hours before the resumption, and McIlroy parred the 14th and 15th before missing a short birdie putt at 16.
However, his 100-yard approach to the 17th green caught the edge of the cup and left him an easy putt for birdie, and he then laced a 268-yard five-wood to the par-five last which also lipped out for what would have been a sensational albatross.
McIlroy, a four-time runner-up in Abu Dhabi, dealt with the tap-in eagle putt to cap a 70 which lifted him within two shots of leader Andy Sullivan on eight under par at the halfway stage.
"I needed that," McIlroy told reporters afterwards. "I could not hole a putt from outside two feet so I thought I would hit a couple inside two feet!
"I said to JP (Fitzgerald, his caddie) on the 17th tee 'Let's finish three, three'. So I don't know if I should say I need 18 threes on the first tee. I knew 18 was a good chance and 17 was downwind so I'd be going in with a wedge, but I didn't quite expect to do what I did on 18. That was nice.
"It glossed over a pretty average round to be fair. But when you are not at your best, to be able to come away with a 70 and keep in touch with the leaders, I'm happy with that."
But as McIlroy found his form, Spieth could not get anything going and parred in to complete a disappointing 73 which left him seven off the pace.
Spieth was particularly off with the putter, taking 31 putts for the round - his first 18 holes over par in a competitive tournament for 22 rounds.
Fowler bogeyed the 14th when play finally resumed, but the popular American bounced back with birdies at two of the last three holes to rescue a creditable 68.
Fowler heads into the third round four strokes off the pace, while McIlroy shares second with young American amateur Bryson DeChambeau, who ran up a scrappy six at the second on the resumption before hitting back with a birdie at the third.
But he gave the shot back at the fifth and parred in to stay at eight under, while Henrik Stenson soared back into contention with three consecutive birdies from the 15th, although he could not make it four in a row at the long last as he signed for a 72.
The Swede moved back to seven under alongside BMW PGA champion Byeong-Hun An, who birdied the final two holes, and English journeyman Robert Rock reeled off three birdies in four holes as he returned a flawless 67 to join the tie for fourth.
