Abu Dhabi Championship second round standings
-12 J Rahm (Spa), T Hatton (Eng), F Laporta (Ita); -11 S Bairstow (engr), R McIlroy (NI), A Meronk (Pol), M Jordan (Eng); -10 B Wiesberger (Aut), D Puig (Spa); -9 M Elvira (Spa), A Scott (Aus); -8 D Hillier (NZ), E Ferguson (Sco), T Fleetwood (Eng)
Others selected: -7 M Wallace (eng); -6 A Rai (English); -3 E Chacarro (Spa); +1 P Reed (United States)
Complete ranking
Rory McIlroy made 11 birdies during a nine-under-par second-round 63 at the Abu Dhabi Championship to move within one shot of the lead.
The 37-year-old put the setback from the two-shot penalty he received on Thursday behind him as he completed the best round of the day to reach 11 under.
Spaniard Jon Rahm, England’s Tyrell Hatton and Italy’s Francesco Laporta share the lead at 12 under, while McIlroy is part of a four-strong group including English duo Sam Bairstow and Matthew Jordan, as well as Poland’s Adrian Meronk.
Laporta held the first-round lead at 10 under, but was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Rahm and Hatton, who both dominated on Friday.
McIlroy had received his penalty for improving his lie in the first round and therefore finished the first day at two under par – eight shots back.
The six-time major winner was penalized after tapping the grass behind his ball with his club before hitting a chip on the par-four 12th at Yas Links.
McIlroy started his second round with a bogey at the first, but bounced back with shots at the second, fourth and seventh holes.
The back-to-back Masters champion then stormed the leaderboard with five consecutive birdies from holes 9 to 13.
A dropped shot at the 14th proved to be just a temporary incident as he recorded two more birdies at the 17th and 18th holes to cap a scintillating round.
This is the first time in his career that he has made 11 birdies in a single round of a DP World Tour event.
After his round, McIlroy said he had “made peace” with the circumstances surrounding the two-shot penalty and felt free to go out and post a good score.
“I went out today like it wasn’t a concern. I had a clear conscience and could just go and play,” he said.
“It’s not like I got off to the best start, but obviously I did.
“I did everything well again. I drove the ball well. I hit my irons well. I putted a little better. I saw a few more putts, which I haven’t seen in the last few months.
“I definitely saw some encouraging signs on the greens today.”
McIlroy is aiming for a fifth consecutive Race to Dubai title and a record eighth overall, which would bring him closer to Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie.
McIlroy entered the Abu Dhabi tournament third in the rankings, behind leader Eugenio Chacarra and second Patrick Reed.
American Reed has long been the leader of the Race to Dubai following his Rolex Series victory in Dubai and Qatar, but was recently overtaken as Spaniard Chacarra claimed a third triumph of the season at the DP India World Championship.
Chacarra shot a 71 in the second round Friday to sit well in the field at three under, while Reed recorded the same score to lie further back at one over.
The top 70 players available from the Race to Dubai rankings will compete in Abu Dhabi, with the top 50 progressing to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship next week in Dubai.
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