At the DP World Tour Championship, tucked away in the lush folds of Jumeirah Golf Estates, Antoine Rozner wasn’t just playing golf; he was rewriting the script.
With a dazzling seven-under-par 65, the French golfer, who seems to have a bit of a love affair with Dubai, took the lead, and boy, did he make it look easy.
Rozner, who has a knack for shining bright in Dubai—he clinched the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World back in 2020—is now sitting pretty at the top with a slim lead of one stroke on nine-under.
Nipping at his heels are the ever-formidable Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy, both lurking just one shot back and adding a delicious tension to the proceedings.
The game truly got spicy for Rozner after a lukewarm start, hanging at one under through the first eight holes.
But something clicked at the ninth, and suddenly, Rozner was on fire, stringing together birdies like pearls on a necklace.
He notched three in a row from the ninth and then another trio from the 14th, clinching the 36-hole lead for the fourth time in his DP World Tour career.
Should Rozner manage to hold onto his lead and triumph on the Earth Course, he could rocket up to second in the Race to Dubai rankings and snag a dual membership with the PGA TOUR for 2025—talk about high stakes!
Antoine Rozner: I putted really well. It’s one of those days where everything goes in, and I had a ton of fun out there.
I think with my caddie we had a really good fun, it was one of those days where everything goes right and took advantage of it.
I need a really good weekend for that. I’m going to try to focus on having two solid days. See how it goes at the end.
I think if I can have a chance on Sunday to either win it or get one of those cards, yeah, it would be great. I’ve been playing really well the last few months, and yeah, let’s go. Let’s take advantage of it.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, who’s more often than not a force to be reckoned with, carded a solid three-under-par 69.
McIlroy’s round could have been even sweeter, had his eagle putt at the close not shyly slipped by the cup. Nevertheless, he’s tightened his grip on the coveted Harry Vardon Trophy.
McIlroy started the day strong, but a couple of bogeys at the eighth and tenth gave Rozner just the opening he needed.
Still, Rory wrapped up with a birdie that kept him at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
With Thriston Lawrence a distant nine shots back, McIlroy is eyeing a sixth title as European Number One, which would tie him with the legendary Seve Ballesteros.
Rory McIlroy: A little disappointed that I didn’t kick on after such a great start, four under through seven.
I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn and not by much either but the rough is so thick, and you lose all control of your golf ball if you hit it in there.
The last few holes, they are pretty difficult. One hard thing about being in the final couple of groups is the greens start to get a bit chewed up at the end of the day.
Especially with the low light you can see everything, even though you can tap stuff down, it’s still hard to trust it sometimes.
I thought I hit my tee shot in the hazard on the last so it was nice to get up there and see it dry end and up having a 20-footer for eagle.
Nice way to finish and as you say, a good position going into the weekend right there.
Hatton, matching McIlroy’s 69, showed some grit after a bogey at the fourth, bouncing back with birdies that kept him in the chase.
As a two-time runner-up in this very championship, Hatton’s eyes are firmly set on the prize.
Tyrrell Hatton: Pretty similar thing to yesterday to be honest in terms of just not feeling very comfortable.
Just every shot felt like a bit of a struggle, I guess. Three under is a pretty acceptable score, all things considered.
Taking the positives from two days where I don’t feel like I’ve played the kind of golf I’m capable of, and we’re one shot off the lead going into the weekend.
Hopefully I can find something and hit it a little bit better. That would make this weekend a little bit more exciting for me.
I’ll go out there tomorrow and give it my best as I have done the last two days, and just hope something clicks.
Rounding out the leaderboard, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann holds fourth place on seven-under, but he’s got company. A bunch of lads—including Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard, Ireland’s Shane Lowry, and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson—each fired off 67s to tie with Japan’s Keita Nakajima for fifth on six-under.
The English trio of Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Wallace, and Paul Waring are also in the mix, just a whisker behind in tied ninth. Waring, in particular, is hot on the heels of his win at Yas Links last week, aiming to double down on his Rolex Series titles.
With the leaderboard this stacked and the stakes sky-high, the next couple of rounds at the DP World Tour Championship promise to be nothing short of spectacular. Stay tuned, as these titans of the turf battle it out for glory!
