Up to me to stage comeback in Abu Dhabi, says McIlroy

Standing on the 17th green in today’s second round, Rory McIlroy would have felt quietly confident about his chances of mounting a weekend comeback at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

With a score of seven under for the day and 12 under for the tournament, he was in prime position for a weekend surge as he headed to the reachable 18th hole on another scorching day at Yas Links.

But after a disastrous visit to the bunker twice on the par-3 17th, McIlroy suffered a triple bogey that dealt a major blow to his hopes of capturing his first professional victory in the capital. He did manage to recover one of those dropped shots on the 18th, but he looked understandably dejected as he walked off with a second straight 67.

At ten under par after 36 holes, McIlroy’s total is impressive - but with the leader, Paul Waring, sitting nine strokes ahead at 19 under, it was clear why the four-time Major winner felt he’d let an opportunity slip.

Still, McIlroy is no stranger to big comebacks in the UAE.

Just this past January, he staged a dramatic rally from ten shots behind at the start of the third round to clinch his fourth title at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Could he pull off a similar comeback this week?

“I'd like to see the course get a bit firmer,” said McIlroy.

“There were a couple greens today that got a bit shinier and a little trickier. Yeah, I need the golf course to firm up a little bit and toughen up a little bit to have a chance.

“There's so many gettable holes out there, the par 5s and some of the shorter par 4s.

“It will be up to me. I shot 63 on that Saturday in Dubai this year, and I'm going to need something similar if not lower, seeing what the scores are like to give myself a chance going into Sunday.

“But I know it's out there. I was 7-under through 13 holes today. So, it is possible.”

McIlroy gets his third round underway on Saturday at 11:00am, alongside Richard Mansell and Yannik Paul.