Jamieson leads in Abu Dhabi as McIlroy battles to make the cut

By Sports Desk January 21, 2022

Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa faced an overnight wait to learn whether they had made the cut at the windswept Abu Dhabi Championship, as Scott Jamieson clung to first place.

McIlroy made a vital birdie at the par-five 18th to improve his score to three over, having dropped four shots over the previous five holes.

His opening 72 had been way off the pace, and a 75 in the gusting wind could be considered a better result, nudging the four-time major winner up 15 places to a share of 60th position at Yas Links.

Reigning Open champion Morikawa added a 74 to his opening 73 to sit alongside McIlroy, both men hoping there was no surge coming from those left with holes still to play in the second round.

Play was suspended amid fading light on Friday, after the high winds made scoring treacherously difficult.

Jamieson had opened with a 63 on Thursday, but he had two bogeys and a double in his second round, which he started from the 10th tee. Birdies at 11 and eight kept the 38-year-old Scot just ahead of the field after a 74, with Viktor Hovland, Ian Poulter and James Morrison all one shot back.

Hovland also shot a 74, Poulter impressed with a 72, while Morrison, level par for the day, had four holes of his round to complete as darkness fell.

Former Open champion Shane Lowry was in a group of four on five under, while Denmark's Jeff Winther was the only player to break 70, his round of 69 featuring five birdies and taking him to four under, in a share of ninth.

In the first DP World Tour event of the year, the drastic change in playing conditions provided a stiff test for all, some former Masters winner Danny Willett was among those who struggled.

His 80, after an opening 72, meant the Yorkshireman could be definitely confirmed as missing the cut on eight over. Only four players scored worse.

The top 65 players and ties are assured of playing the final two rounds, with the second round to resume at 07:30 local time on Saturday (03:30 GMT).

Jamieson, the world number 336, said it "certainly wasn't easy" for the players who had enjoyed conditions suitable for low-scoring on the opening day.

"It's so tricky," he said, quoted on the DP World Tour website. "Obviously hitting shots is tricky with all the gusts, but the hardest thing is putting.

"You get over the ball and you feel like you've got to be so tense to stop everything moving, but that's the worst thing you can do when you're trying to putt.

"I holed a lot of really good putts from inside five feet today which kept my score respectable.

"It's a great test from tee to green, if you want to call it a test, at the mercy of whatever gust you might or might not get."

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    He currently holds a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence, and knows a top-11 finish on Sunday will guarantee him the season-long crown for the third year in a row. 

    Should McIlroy emerge victorious, it will also be his sixth Race to Dubai title and match Seve Ballesteros' total, just two away from record eight-time winner Colin Montgomerie.

    But when reflecting on 2024, he said that after making three bogeys in his last four holes to lose the US Open to DeChambeau, the battle scars still remain. 

    "Incredibly consistent again. I've been really proud of that over the past few years," he said in Wednesday's pre-tournament press conference in Dubai.

    "But then, at the same time, thinking about the ones that have got away.

    "I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I'm not, so that stings and that's something that I've had to come to terms with. But at the same time, I've got plenty more opportunities in the future.

    "But I really just tried to focus on the positives this year of consistently performing at the highest level. You know, still having three wins with an opportunity to get a fourth here this week, to win another Race to Dubai title.

    "Did I achieve every goal I set myself this year? Probably not, but I still consider it a successful season."

    McIlroy won once on the DP World Tour when he claimed the Dubai Desert Classic in January.

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    Winning a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy and matching his father’s golfing hero, Ballesteros, still means a lot to him.

    "I guess I am a little too young to remember a lot of Seve's career and things that he did. Seve is almost like, not a mythical character to me, but was just a little bit before my time," he said.

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