GOLF:IT IS hard enough when you need to beat the number one in the world to end the season as Europe's top golfer. Now Rory McIlroy has to overcome the biggest hitting player in the world too. And just to make matters worse, McIlroy is low on energy, suffering from what could be a mild case of dengue fever.
McIlroy, for whom it is victory at the Dubai World Championship or bust, heads into the weekend with a comfortable three-shot advantage over Luke Donald, the leader of the season-long Race to Dubai.
Less comfortably, McIlroy finds himself in third place in the tournament, five shots behind the leader, Alvaro Quiros. The Spaniard’s eight-under-par 64 yesterday was two shots better than anyone else in the field.
Shane Lowry’s 70 left him on 139, two shots behind his old amateur sparring partner McIlroy, while Graeme McDowell’s second successive 71 had him on 142. Michael Hoey is on 147 after shooting a 73, one ahead of Darren Clarke, who returned a 72 yesterday, with Peter Lawrie’s 74 leaving him on 149.
McIlroy is not a man to be intimidated but there was a hint of trepidation as he contemplated the two rounds ahead. He needs to win tomorrow to give himself any chance of topping the European Tour’s money list for the first time in his career.
Even then he will need Donald to finish no higher than 10th. After 36 holes Donald was in 12th place.
“I have got a bit of an uphill battle ahead of me but it is still possible,” McIlroy said.
“I am only five shots behind Alvaro, which you can make up in nine holes. I’ve just got to be patient and bide my time and play as good as I can. I’m going to see a doctor again tomorrow night. They said it could have been dengue fever [an illness transmitted by a mosquito bite], food poisoning or a number of different things. My immune system is a little low and it’s taking my body more time to recover.”
Yet Quiros is in a rich vein of form and the Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates – a bomber’s paradise if ever there was one – might have been designed with him in mind. No one hits the ball further.
His weakness lies on the greens, where his putting might best be described as streaky. He can be good or he can be bad with the flat stick. Yesterday he was exceptional, running in six birdies over the opening 17 holes.
His very best came at the par-five 18th. Two mighty hits left him 30 feet from the hole, from where he rolled in the putt for eagle to reached the halfway point of the tournament on 12 under par, four shots ahead of Sweden’s Peter Hanson.
So much for the organisers’ hopes of a two-man contest between McIlroy and Donald, the top-ranked players in the world. After his round Quiros took an obvious delight in upsetting the apple cart.
“Rory and Luke are not the only two players in the tournament,” he said with a big grin. “I mean, the rest of us are here trying to ruin the party, otherwise the competition wouldn’t be as stiff. That’s a good thing, right?”
It is, although there will not have been many murmurs of agreement in the sponsor’s luxury box.
Dubai Properties has endured a torrid time in the economic downturn and, having put up a prize fund of €11,200,000 (half of which will be distributed in bonus money to the top 15 players in the Race to Dubai), the last thing they want is a battle royal between Quiros and Hanson – not that they would ever say such a thing in public.
The dream scenario is for McIlroy to turn in another storming weekend and for Donald to stay exactly where he is until the denouement. This is asking a lot, especially of Donald, who has comprehensively buried his reputation as a reliable plodder over the course of this season.
These days he plays to win, not keep the bank manager happy, although he did confess to feeling a bit twitchier than he has for a long time after the second round.
“When there is such a lot on the line you feel a bit more nervous but sometimes that can be a good thing.
“I know what’s at stake and it’s a big deal to me.
“Compared to some other tournaments, the first and second rounds have been a little bit more nervous,” he said.
Not as nervous as some European Tour officials, who spent yesterday checking and rechecking the exact amounts of money won by Donald and McIlroy during the course of this year.
“We are sure the money list is right but we just want to have peace of mind,” one said.
No wonder. If McIlroy wins tomorrow and Donald finishes tied ninth alongside one other player, Donald will win the Race to Dubai by €4 – the price of a coffee in the tented village over by the first tee.
Guardian Service
DUBAI LEADERBOARD
(British unless stated, Irish in bold, par 72):
132 Alvaro Quiros (Spn) 68 64
136 Peter Hanson (Swe) 64 72
137 Rory McIlroy66 71, Robert Rock 68 69
138 Paul Casey 72 66, Paul Lawrie 65 73
139 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 68, Shane Lowry69 70, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 69 70, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 72 67, Pablo Larrazabal (Spn) 71 68
140 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 71, Sergio Garcia (Spn) 67 73, Luke Donald 72 68, Johan Edfors (Swe) 72 68
141 David Horsey 69 72, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 73 68, David Lynn 69 72, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spn) 70 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 67, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 75 66
142 Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 73, Ross Fisher 68 74, Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 72, Graeme McDowell71 71, Ian Poulter 73 69, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spn) 72 70, Lee Westwood 73 69
143 Richie Ramsay 74 69, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 74 69, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 70 73, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 73 70, Ernie Els (Rsa) 74 69, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 73, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 72 71
144 Jamie Donaldson 75 69, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 71, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 71 73, Scott Jamieson 72 72, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 72
145 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 73 72, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 75, Thomas Levet (Fra) 70 75, James Morrison 75 70
146 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 72 74, Rhys Davies 73 73
147 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 70 77, Anders Hansen (Den) 74 73, Joost Luiten (Ned) 76 71, George Coetzee (Rsa) 74 73, Mark Foster 76 71, Michael Hoey75 72
148 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spn) 71 77, Darren Clarke76 72
149 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 76 73, Peter Lawrie75 74
152 Simon Dyson 77 75
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