Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton share the lead at 12 under after two rounds of the 2026 Abu Dhabi Championship at Yas Links, alongside Italy's Francesco LaPorta. Both Rahm and Hatton, former Legion XIII teammates on LIV Golf, carded eight birdies each on Friday, with Rahm adding three bogeys to Hatton's one. "Pretty good play," Rahm said. "Only thing to take back would be just a couple of bad tee shots right now, feeling fairly comfortable otherwise. Just there's been a couple of swings off the tee that were unexpected. But hopefully I can fix that, but otherwise the play has been lovely."
Rory McIlroy sits one stroke back at 11 under after a second-round 63 that featured 11 birdies, a personal best for a single round on the DP World Tour. McIlroy opened with a bogey on the first hole after taking an unplayable lie, then rattled off 11 birdies over the remainder of his round. "I did everything well again. I drove the ball well. I hit my irons well. I putted a little bit better," McIlroy said. "I saw a few more putts go in, which is something that I haven't been seeing for the last couple of months. I finished second at Wentworth. Felt like if I had holed any putts at the weekend, I could have walked away with the win there. Struggled on the greens in India. But did some work with Brad Faxon last week and feel like I'm in a better spot with it. I definitely saw some encouraging signs on the greens today."
McIlroy's strong Friday came a day after he received a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie on the par-4 12th hole, turning a double bogey into an eight and leaving him with an opening 70. McIlroy said he made peace with the ruling and played with a clear conscience. "Before I left the course, I made peace with it," McIlroy said. "I didn't dwell on it or I didn't feel like I did anything wrong. But then at the same time, I said the video didn't look good, like the close-up of it. So, again, I just never wanted the perception, people feeling like I got away with something. Yeah, I just wouldn't want that sitting with me. So I was happy -- I'd much rather be two shots worse off than be called a cheat. So that's what I did, and I made peace with it. At least I went out today, like it wasn't playing on my mind. I had a clear conscience, and I could just go and play."
In the Race to Dubai standings, leader Eugenio Chacarra is at 3 under after rounds of 70-71, while Patrick Reed sits at 1 over for the tournament.
