Rozner shines with flawless 65 to lead DP World Tour Championship

Antoine Rozner might soon crown Jumeirah Golf Estates as his favourite hunting ground.

Four years after conquering the Fire course at the Golf in Dubai Championship with a stunning 25-under-par performance, the Frenchman decided it was time to go low on the Earth course on Friday at the DP World Tour Championship.

Rozner fired a bogey-free second round 65 to seize a one shot lead at the season-ending event, which marked a remarkable turnaround for the 31-year-old, who, just a day earlier, found himself two over par on the 15th hole.

But four consecutive birdies to close out Thursday’s round - including a narrowly missed six-foot eagle putt at the last – breathed life back into Rozner’s tournament.

Buoyed by that late surge, he carried that momentum into Friday, rolling in seven birdies to post the week’s best score at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

At nine under par, Rozner now leads Ryder Cup duo Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy by a single stroke.

"Just no mistakes. Of course, I putted really well," Rozner said. "It's one of those days where everything goes in and I had a ton of fun out there.

"I think with my caddy [Patxi Londaitz] we had really good fun, and yeah, it was one of those days where everything goes right and took advantage of it. It was a lot of fun.

"I just think the confidence clicked and everything is going the right way. We're doing a really good job with my caddy as well.

"It's key and the margins are very small in this game. So sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Today was one of them.

"I'm going to try to focus on having two solid days and see how it goes at the end. I think if I can have a chance on Sunday to either win it or get one of those (PGA Tour) cards, yeah, it would be great.”

In the early stages of the second round, it seemed McIlroy was poised to take control, surging to four under through his first seven holes and eyeing a third victory at the season finale.

However, bogeys on the eighth and tenth holes stalled his charge, leaving the door ajar for Rozner to grab the spotlight.

McIlroy’s birdie at the last saw him sign a round of 69, placing him in a tie for second with LIV Golf's Hatton.

McIlroy remains in a commanding position atop the Race to Dubai Rankings, with South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence—the only player capable of denying him a sixth Race to Dubai title—nine shots back at level par.

Meanwhile, Joaquin Niemann sits in fourth after carding an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys for a second round 67, which left the Chilean on seven under par for the tournament.

Hot on his heels are Rasmus Højgaard, Jesper Svensson and Shane Lowry, all carding impressive 67s to climb to six under.

Keita Nakajima also shares fifth, while the English trio of Paul Waring, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace complete the top ten, four shots adrift of Rozner’s lead.