DP World Tour : Dubai Invitational Leaderboard
The Dubai Resort course had the reputation of being an easy test for the leading professionals as long as they are in the fairways.... or the wind blows.
Well the wind is up from yesterday, and so are the scores, where anything under par is good today. For example Rory McIlroy had an opening effortless 66, is +2 today through 14 holes.
His best friend and playing partner Shane Lowry is -2 and at -4 has the lead, but this field is bunched mid way through round 2..
Shane Lowry and Nacho Elvira produced brilliant rounds of 68 in windy conditions to share a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the 2026 Dubai Invitational.
The Irishman began the day three shots behind good friend and career Grand Slam champion Rory McIlroy, but some stunning iron play and clutch putting saw him overhaul his playing partner at Dubai Creek Resort.
Lowry is aiming to secure his first DP World Tour title since winning the 2022 BMW PGA Championship and he showcased his quality with five birdies and two bogeys.
Spaniard Elvira surged into contention thanks to four birdies in his final six holes for a matching 68 - the best rounds of the day - to get to -5
“Very happy. It was hard. It was tricky,” said Lowry. “If I play golf like that for the rest of the season in that frame of mind, I’ll be pretty good.
“The first tournament of the year you don’t know what to expect. So going out there in the last group now on Saturday is nice, and keep it going and we’ll see what happens.”
McIlroy regained his overnight one-shot advantage when he birdied the third to reach -6
That lead was briefly extended to two when Antoine Rozner's early birdie burst was offset by a double-bogey, but McIlroy dropped a shot at the sixth.
A skewed chip left a difficult par putt for McIlroy to save par at the ninth and when it slid by, he was in a two-way tie for the lead at -4
Lowry opened with birdie-birdie for the second day running and despite a bogey at the fifth, he picked up the shot at the very next hole. A bogey at the ninth saw him slip back one, but he responded immediately with a lovely birdie putt at the tenth to rejoin the lead.
None of the trio could jump ahead on their own as they reached the turn, which saw Marcus Armitage increase the leadership group to four.
However, by the time McIlroy and Lowry finished the 14th hole, the latter was in the solo lead.
Armitage dropped a shot at the ninth - his last - and McIlroy found the water at the 14th as the trio slipped back to -3
That left Lowry on his own at the top. He was briefly joined by Elvira and McIlroy when the latter rolled in a 46-foot putt at the 16th for birdie, but Lowry followed suit from 31 feet to maintain his one-shot lead at -5.
McIlroy found the water for the fourth time at the 17th as he finished with back-to-back bogeys to sit three behind the joint leaders.
Armitage and Spain's David Puig were tied for third at -3 while McIlroy, Lawrence, Rozner and Spain's Angel Ayora were one shot further back at -2
American Ryggs Johnston recorded the first hole-in-one of 2026 when his aced the 218-yard par-three eighth with a six iron.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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