Artistic Lowry hits the front as McIlroy struggles in windy Dubai
Shane Lowry. Picture: Getty Images
Shane Lowry had to tap into his artistic side to overcome strong winds and grab a share of the halfway lead in the Dubai Invitational.
The Offaly man (38) outscored a struggling Rory McIlroy by six strokes at Dubai Creek and matched Spain’s Nacho Elvira with a joint best of the day, three-under 68 to leave them at the top of the leaderboard on five-under par.
Lowry and Elvira were two strokes clear of England’s Marcus Armitage and Spain’s David Puig as McIlroy found the water four times and bogeyed the last two holes to card a three-over 74.
He fell from the overnight lead to joint fifth with South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, France’s Antoine Rozner and Spain’s Angel Ayora, three strokes off the pace on two-under, even after making 131 feet of putts.
“I knew it was going to be really hard,” said Lowry, who made over 100 feet of putts himself in a five-birdie effort that included a 30-footer at the 16th and a five-footer for par at the 18th.
“Second round of the year, you don't really know. You kind of don't want this. But yeah, I'm very happy with my day’s work now.”
Lowry would prefer windless conditions, but he admitted that the breeze forced him to tap into his artistic side, and he enjoyed the challenge.
“People said to me on the putting green this morning, ‘Oh, you must have looked out today and [relished] seeing this’, but I'm like, no, I'd rather if it wasn't much wind.
“But I'm able to deal with it. I do quite enjoy the artistry of moving the ball around and hitting different shots and hitting eight irons from 130 yards and stuff like that.
“It’s good fun. And we had a great group today. You know, when you're there having a bit of fun, it's easy to play good golf. So that attitude for the rest of the year, and I'll be pretty good.”
While Lowry won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with McIlroy in 2024, he failed to win last season despite playing some brilliant golf.
It’s been more than three years since he won an individual event — the 2022 BMW PGA at Wentworth.
But he believes he’s become a better player since forming a close friendship with McIlroy and reckons he’s playing some of the best golf of his career.
“It’s just being around him, I suppose,” Lowry explained. “I'm so comfortable around him as well. So when I'm paired with him, I don't really get too flustered.
“He's one of the greatest players of our generation, of all time now, and just when you're able to just hang out with him day to day and week to week and see what he does to make himself better, it kind of drives you on to be a better person yourself.”
Believing his best days are ahead of him, Lowry added: “Well, as a golfer, you have to believe that. If you don't believe that, you might as well pack it in.
“So I'm working as hard as I ever have. Like, my game’s as good as it ever was. So, yeah, we'll see.”
While he had some misses in difficult conditions, his putting was key to his success in round two and he was pleased to remain patient and keep the ball under control.
“Yeah, very happy,” he said. “It was hard. It was tricky. You know, like that putt on the last hole, you don't hole a lot of putts like that, and I did well.
“I did a good job. A couple of sloppy mistakes on the front nine, but I was playing good and giving myself chances.
“Yeah, and patience. Control and everything. Just putting the ball in play and not doing anything silly and not making any big mistakes was key out there, and I did that.”
Getting another win on his CV is at the top of Lowry’s wish list for 2026, and he’s looking forward to the weekend.
“You know, first tournament of the year, you don't know what to expect,” he said. “So going out there in the last group now on Saturday is nice, and yeah, keep it going and we'll see what happens.”
Pádraig Harrington shot 73 to share 39th on five-over par alongside Tom McKibbin, who carded a 75.
Dubai Invitational, Dubai Creek (Par 71)
After 36 holes (No cut)
137 Shane Lowry (IRL) 69 68, N Elvira (ESP) 69 68,
139 D Puig (ESP) 67 72, M Armitage (ENG) 69 70,
140 A Ayora (ESP) 68 72, A Rozner (FRA) 68 72, T Lawrence (RSA) 69 71, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66 74,
141 C Syme (SCO) 67 74, M Wallace (ENG) 68 73, D Frittelli (RSA) 70 71, D Hillier (NZL) 69 72, M Siem (GER) 72 69, G Forrest (SCO) 71 70,
142 J Schaper (RSA) 69 73, E Ferguson (SCO) 72 70, R Johnston (USA) 70 72, J Luiten (NED) 72 70,
143 S Norris (RSA) 72 71, P Reed (USA) 69 74, J Kruyswijk (RSA) 70 73, T Olesen (DEN) 73 70, P Waring (ENG) 72 71,
144 E Chacarra (ESP) 69 75, R Fox (NZL) 72 72, J Guerrier (FRA) 68 76, D Willett (ENG) 70 74, R Neergaard-Petersen (DEN) 71 73, C Hill (SCO) 70 74,
145 M Couvra (FRA) 72 73, F Lacroix (FRA) 71 74, D Bradbury (ENG) 70 75, J Lagergren (SWE) 71 74, J Lee (KOR) 73 72,
146 D Gavins (ENG) 74 72, Y Katsuragawa (JPN) 70 76, G Migliozzi (ITA) 72 74, O Lindell (FIN) 68 78,
147 A Otaegui (UAE) 75 72, F Molinari (ITA) 71 76, T Fleetwood (ENG) 69 78, Tom McKibbin (NIR) 74 73, A Sullivan (ENG) 73 74, Pádraig Harrington (IRL) 72 75,
148 J Olesen (DEN) 78 70, D Van Driel (NED) 74 74,
149 A Hidalgo (ESP) 72 77, M Manassero (ITA) 71 78,
150 P Larrazábal (ESP) 69 81, R Hoshino (JPN) 74 76,
152 A Del Rey (ESP) 76 76, N Højgaard (DEN) 74 78, N Von Dellingshausen (GER) 75 77, N Norgaard (DEN) 76 76,
153 O Strydom (RSA) 80 73,
154 D Naidoo (RSA) 75 79, J Veerman (USA) 75 79, D Ravetto (FRA) 75 79,
** OUT A Wu (CHN) 74 RT, R Mansell (ENG) RT
