Heartbreak for Rory McIlroy as he loses his shot with painful bogey one more time at the DP World Championship

Rory McIlroy struggled in the second round of the 2024 DP World Tour Championship and lost the lead after a fabulous start to his game. The Northern Irish golfer had a fantastic start with a round of 5-under 67 in the season-ending DP World Tour event.

McIlroy was tied for the lead after round one with Tyrrell Hatton but struggled in the second round, slipping down two positions to secure third place. However, the tournament is still underway, and McIlroy has yet to complete his game on the 18 holes of the second round.

Rory McIlroy started the game on Friday, November 15, on the first tee hole with a birdie. He was impressive in the beginning and carded back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes. However, he shot a bogey on the par-4 eighth and another bogey on the tenth, which caused him to lose his lead.

At the time of writing, he is tied for third at a total of 7-under with LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann. Notably, the Chilean golfer was impressive on Friday, shooting 67 and jumping eight spots on the leaderboard.

Tyrrell Hatton has also lost his lead after playing half of the second round. However, he only slipped down one spot to secure second place. The English golfer, who started the game with McIlroy in the same group on Friday, had a rough start but improved as the game progressed.

Hatton shot a bogey on the fourth but made four birdies. However, he has yet to play two more holes. With a total of 8-under, Hatton is settled in second place at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Antoine Rozner shot 65 on Friday and jumped ten spots to secure the top position.

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Rory McIlroy sets eyes on winning the Race to Dubai standings

With the conclusion of the 2024 DP World Tour Championship, the final standings of the Race to Dubai list will be out. Rory McIlroy leads the standings as he entered this week's tournament, followed by Thriston Lawrence in second place. It's a two-man race for the Race to Dubai title.

For Lawrence to surpass McIlroy, he needs to win the tournament this week while McIlroy has to finish tied for 11 or lower.

During the first-round press conference of the DP World Tour Championship, McIlroy clarified his stance, stating that he looks forward to winning the tournament this weekend and securing the Race to Dubai rankings. He said, via Asap Sports:

"Absolutely. I want to go on from here and win the golf tournament. I've opened up with a really good score but I need to go out and play similarly over these next three days, not just to try to win the tournament but also to try to get the job done in The Race to Dubai."

Notably, even though the World No. 3 struggled with his game in the second round, he still holds a position in the top 10. Meanwhile, Lawrence shot two rounds of 73 and 71, and at the time of writing, he is tied for 34th position.