RORY McILROY conceded a draining season might finally have started to catch up with him after two bogeys in his final three holes cost the 22-year-old the outright lead at the halfway point of the Hong Kong Open.
Starting the day at the top of the leaderboard alongside Spaniard Alvaro Quiros and David Horsey of England, McIlroy climbed to nine under par before his drive on the 16th ended up behind a tree and led to a bogey.
He saved par after a wayward tee shot on the 17th, but another poor drive at the 18th found the trees to result in another bogey and a round of 69.
That left McIlroy sharing the lead with Quiros on seven under par and the Ulster man feels a hectic year that has seen him rise to number two in the world and win the US Open, as well as a recent bout of illness, could have contributed to the sloppy finish.
“It was obviously not the way I wanted to finish,” McIlroy said. “I got myself in a good position, hit it in the middle of the 13th fairway and had a good chance there to get to 10 under par and to finish at seven is a bit disappointing.
“I hit a few loose shots coming in that I’ll have to try and eliminate tomorrow if I want to lead this tournament going into Sunday, but I’m still tied for the lead, I’m in the same position I was last night.
“I feel like I definitely could have shot a few better today but if that’s my worst round of the week, it’s not too bad.
“It could have been a bit of mental and physical fatigue. I don’t feel like I’m completely 100 per cent, maybe a couple of tired swings towards the end.
“I’ve just got to try and get through this weekend the best I can and really give it everything and try and win the tournament to give myself a chance (of overtaking Luke Donald on the money list) going into next week.
“It’s been a learning experience for me these last 10 weeks, I know my capabilities and my limitations and I feel like I’m coming to the end of that.
“I just need to make sure that I have decent energy levels for the next two rounds. I might have made the season a little bit too long for myself and that’s something I’ve got to learn from in the future.
“I had two weeks off in between the HSBC Champions and the World Cup and I got sick for a few days so that took a little bit of energy out of me.
“I was on a drip for three days in the Maldives, which wasn’t too nice.
“It’s the end of the season, I’m sure it’s not just me feeling like this, I’m sure a lot of guys are. It’s been a long season and there’s a couple of weeks left and we get to enjoy Christmas.”
Quiros had earlier also shot a 69 that featured four birdies and three bogeys, leaving him and McIlroy a shot ahead of Richie Ramsay and Panupol Pittayarat.
Scot Ramsay carded a 66 with five birdies and a bogey, while Thai youngster Panupol went one better with a 65.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, Danny Lee and Pariya Junhasavasdikul are tied for fifth on five under, while overnight leader Horsey is four under after a 72.
Defending champion Ian Poulter is six off the pace on one under after a 68, while a 71 leaves Pádraig Harrington one over as his hopes of sneaking into the Dubai World Championship recede. Peter Lawrie was on two-under after a 69, but well outside the projected cut of two-over-par were Michael Hoey, on nine-over despite shooting 71 yesterday, and Damien McGrane, whose 76 left him on 13-over.
Colin Montgomerie will be around at the weekend after a 69 saw the Scot make the cut on the limit, as did John Daly following a 68 and Jose Maria Olazabal (69).
Meanwhile, Gareth Maybin kept alive his hopes of retaining a European Tour card for 2012 with a hole-in-one on the par-three fourth as part of a 73 that saw him end the day level with Poulter and six others in a tie for 21st.
The Northern Irishman arrived in Hong Kong lying 120th on the money list, still five places shy of retaining his card for next season.
Former Ryder Cup players Oliver Wilson and Niclas Fasth and triple European Tour winner Nick Dougherty lost their playing privileges for 2012. Wilson and Dougherty missed the cut while Fasth is 132nd on the money-list and could not improve his ranking after missing the Hong Kong event.
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