Lowry and McKibbin just six behind in Dubai; Moran and St John earn full Alps Tour status
Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during Day Two of the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 17, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Nicolai Hojgaard raced two shots clear in the DP World Tour Championship, but his Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry reckons he could be "quite dangerous" if he backs up his second-round 67 today.
The Offaly star holed a bunker shot for eagle and made over 200 feet of putts to jump into a tie for 17th on five-under alongside Holywood rookie Tom McKibbin as Rory McIlroy slipped back into the pack in Dubai.
Lowry and McKibbin are six shots behind Højgaard, who eagled the last to lead by two shots from England's Tommy Fleetwood (66), Norway's Viktor Hovland (66), France's Antone Rozner (67), South African Thriston Lawrence (64) and Sweden's Jens Danthorp (67).
"It's that time of year where golf can sometimes feel a little bit hard for me," said Lowry, who is 44th in the Race to Dubai but still eyeing the $3 million winner's cheque.
"I feel like I like to be in the tournament for the weekend and it'll give me a lot of motivation to get out there and play well," Lowry added. "If I can do the same thing tomorrow as I did today, I could probably be dangerous come Sunday."
After making a bogey at the third, Lowry made a 10-footer for par at the fifth to remain one-over for the championship before he turned his day around with a magical mid-round run.
He rolled in a 20-footer for a two at the 195-yard sixth, holed a bunker shot for an eagle three at the seventh, then made a 30-footer at the eighth before following that with birdies from 60 feet at the 11th, 34 feet at the 14th and 20 feet at the 16th.
"The bunker shot on seven got me going and then made the putt on the eighth and I was flying pretty good after that," Lowry said, who handed a shot back with a drive into water at the 18th. "I played really solid all day, and it was just a disappointing finish, but I'm back in the tournament."
McKibbin also battled his way back to the fringes of contention when he made four birdies in five holes from the 12th in his 68.
McIlroy turned in two-under to get to three-under for the championship but three-putted the 11th and bogeyed the 16th to card a 72 that left him 10 shots off the lead.
Italy's Giovanni Manzoni wins the 2023 Alps Tour Qualifying School Final Stage. Photo Credit: Alps Tour Golf / Federico Capretti
"I was just stuck in neutral all day," McIlroy said. "There's a low one out there, and obviously, I'm going to need a low one to get myself back in the tournament."
Hojgaard arrived at the Earth course on day two in a share of the lead, but back-to-back bogeys saw him stumble, and he was still a long way behind despite fighting back to turn in level par.
A birdie on the tenth signalled the start of better things, though, and he added two more before finishing birdie-eagle to come home in 30 and sign for a 66 that left him at 11 under.
Højgaard has eight top tens in the 2023 season - including a runner-up finish at last week's Nedbank Golf Challenge - with three top fives in his last four DP World Tour starts.
The 22-year-old also has a runner-up finish on the PGA TOUR, with his form earning him a Captain's Pick from Luke Donald for Europe's Ryder Cup victory over the United States last month.
“It's a little bit like last week as well,” Hojgaard said. “Had a slow start in every round, basically. And then I just know on every round there's going to be a run of birdies at some point with where my game is at. So it's about staying patient. I would like to play the front nine a little bit better on the weekend. But I'm very, very satisfied with how I'm playing these two rounds.
“I trust my game at the moment. It's been a little bit shaky at times this year, but I feel like we're on track at the moment. I feel like I've got confidence in my shots, the selections of shots, the game plan we've put in place every round.
“I feel like (a win) is the only thing I missed this season. But there are two rounds to go. There are a lot of really good players in this field I know that are going to be in the hunt the next few days. I'm going to keep grinding as much as I can and put myself around, hopefully, and we'll see on Sunday.”
Leona Maguire made 17 pars and a birdie in a one-under 71 to slip back into the pack at the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Florida.
The Cavan star had to wait until the par-five 17th to make her lone birdie and found herself tied 30th in the clubhouse on five-under, eight shots behind early leader Amy Yang, who shot a bogey-free 63 to lead on 13-under at Tiburón in Naples.
At the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic at Sea Island in Georgia, Padraig Harrington was destined to miss the projected four-under-par cut after he followed a two-over 72 on the Seaside course with a two-under 70 on the Plantation layout.
Swedish Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg followed a 67 with a six-under 64 on the Seaside course to claim the early clubhouse lead on 11-under, one stroke ahead of Denny McCarthy, Sam Ryder and Eric Cole.
At the Alps Tour Qualifying School in Rome, amateurs Robert Moran and Brandon St John earned Category 6 membership for 2024.
Moran shot a level par 71 at Golf Nazionale to finish third on six-under, four shots behind Italy's Giovanni Manzoni, as St John's 75 left him just inside the top 35 and ties on four-over.
Fellow amateurs Marc Boucher, 40th on five-over after a 72, and Alex Maguire, 65th on 11-over after a 79, earned Category 8 status.
