Westwood in control

Westwood, who started the day tied second on six-under-66 with Camilo Villegas and Chris Wood, fired four birdies and a bogey to card a three-under-69, which earned him a nine-under-135 total, after Irishman Padraig Harrington's double bogey on the hazardous 18th cost him the chance to finish the day as the joint leader of the $7.5 million tournament.

"I'm delighted with 69," said Westwood. "It was certainly much harder than Thursday with the wind blowing. Some of the flag positions didn't fit my eye, so I was finding it difficult out there. I had to play a kind of plodding game between the 2nd and the 3rd and the 16th for my birdies.

"That happens, some days. You struggle to get things going, the birdies don't quite come so freely, and then you have to just dig in there and grind it out for a while."

Westwood was watching as Harrington dropped two shots on the final hole. He too had to make a nearly 20-foot putt on the 18th for birdie. "It was nice to hole the last one. I'd seen what Padraig did, missed the 18th, and I felt I could take a two-shot lead. It's always nice to pin one when you fancy it," Westwood added.

With two rounds left to be played, Westwood knows he'll have to focus harder to keep McIlroy at bay. Victory on Sunday will ensure Westwood leaves Dubai with the Race to Dubai title as well; a fitting way to end one of the more consistent seasons on the European Tour. "I can't afford to think about anything else. This is going to be a tough tournament to win as it is and there's no room for thinking about what anybody else is doing. I can only worry about what's going on in Lee Westwood's game, so I'm not worried about anybody else."

Meanwhile, McIlroy is tied second in group of six on seven-under-137, with Ross McGowan, Louis Oosthuizen, Harrington, Villegas and overnight leader Robert Allenby for company. Ulsterman McIlroy picked up birdies on his opening two holes before claiming an eagle on the seventh and another birdie on the ninth to make the turn on 31. His back nine was a forgettable one, though, as he went for par until he picked up bogeys on the 14th and 15th. Three more pars on the closing holes meant he too finished his day with a three-under-69 that was just enough to take him to 137.

Sergio Garcia, who shot a one-under on the opening day, also put himself into contention. After bogeying the first hole yesterday, the Spaniard picked up six birdies - 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 15th - to return a five-under-67 card, which took his total after two rounds to six-under-138. Garcia is currently tied eighth in a group of four including South Africa's Thomas Aiken, China's Wen-chong Liang and countryman Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

"It's good. The day didn't start the way I expected, but after that I played pretty consistent. I hit a lot of greens and made some nice birdies, and got a good stretch on the back nine with three birdies in a row, which put me in a decent position for the weekend," said Garcia.

David Drysdale led the group for whom the final hole, with its meandering water hazards, would prove nightmarish on Day Two. The Scotsman was joined by Johan Edfors, Chris Wood and Harrington, who dropped the ball into the water twice and was slapped with a two stroke penalty that resulted in him foregoing his place at the top of the leaderboard with Westwood. "It's a really good hole; a tough hole and you've got to hit three good shots up there," said Harrington.

Dubai Dinner would have tasted sweeter for Lee Westwood last night as he ended day two at the top of the Dubai World Championship leaderboard, with Race to Dubai leader and archrival Rory McIlroy two strokes behind.

Westwood, who started the day tied-second on six-under-66 with Camilo Villegas and Chris Wood, fired four birdies against a solitary bogey to card a 69. This which earned him a nine-under-135 total, after Irishman Padraig Harrington's double bogey on the hazardous 18th cost him the chance to finish the day as the joint leader of the $7.5 million event.

"I'm delighted with 69," said Westwood. "It was certainly much harder than Thursday with the wind blowing. Some of the flag positions didn't fit my eye, so I was finding it difficult out there. I had to play a kind of plodding game between the 2nd and the 3rd and the 16th for my birdies.

"That happens, some days. You struggle to get things going, the birdies don't quite come so freely, and then you have to just dig in there and grind it out for a while."

Westwood was watching as Harrington dropped two shots on the final hole. He too had to make a nearly 20-foot putt on the 18th for birdie. "It was nice to hole the last one. I'd seen what Padraig did, missed the 18th, and I felt I could take a two-shot lead. It's always nice to pin one when you fancy it," Westwood added.

With two rounds left to be played, Westwood knows he'll have to focus harder to keep McIlroy at bay. Victory tomorrow will ensure Westwood leaves Dubai with the Race to Dubai title as well; a fitting way to end one of the more consistent seasons on the European Tour.

Tied second

Meanwhile, McIlroy is tied second in group of six on seven-under-137, with Ross McGowan, Louis Oosthuizen, Harrington, Villegas and overnight leader Robert Allenby for company. Sergio Garcia, who shot a one-under on the opening day, also put himself into contention. After bogeying the first hole yesterday, the Spaniard picked up six birdies — 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 15th — to return a five-under-67 card, taking him to six-under-138.

"It's good. The day didn't start the way I expected, but after that I played pretty consistent. I hit a lot of greens and made some nice birdies, and got a good stretch on the back nine with three birdies in a row, which put me in a decent position for the weekend," said Garcia.

Dubai World Championship, leading second round:

135 — Lee Westwood (Britain) 66-69.

137 — Robert Allenby (Australia) 65-72, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 68-69, Ross McGowan (Britain) 71-66, Rory McIlroy (Britain) 68-69, Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 71-66, Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 66-71.

138 — Thomas Aiken (South Africa) 68-70, Rafael Cabrera (Spain) 71-67, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 71-67, Liang Wenchong (China) 68-70.

139 — Johan Edfors (Sweden) 69-70, Alexander Noren (Sweden) 70-69, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 70-69.

140 — Retief Goosen (South Africa) 69-71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 72-68, Gareth Maybin (Britain) 71-69, Francesco Molinari (Italy) 72-68, Scott Strange (Australia) 73-67.