Saturday 19 November 2016 14:28, UK
Sergio Garcia raced into a share of the lead with Francesco Molinari as Lee Westwood stumbled late on day two of the DP World Tour Championship.
Garcia and Molinari both carded six-birdie 67s to hit the front on nine under at the halfway stage, while overnight leader Westwood slipped a shot off the pace after dropping only his second shot of the tournament at the last.
Henrik Stenson remained firmly on course to regain the Race to Dubai crown as an incident-packed 69 pulled him level with closest rival Danny Willett, while third-placed Alex Noren is one ahead of the top two despite a faltering finish to his 69.
Rory McIlroy revived his hopes of retaining his title as he bounced back from Thursday's 75 - his worst score in 29 rounds on the Earth Course - with a classy 68, but that still left him eight shots behind Garcia and Molinari heading into the weekend.
Garcia had looked to be heading for the first-round lead when he rolled in a huge eagle putt on the 14th to get to six under, only to dump his second into the water at 16 and run up a double-bogey six.
But he hit his stride early on day two as he converted three birdie chances in five holes in an outward 33, before picking up another shot at the 11th. He then made one of the best pars of the season at the 12th, holing from 45 feet after being forced to take a penalty drop from the shrubbery following a dreadful snap-hook off the tee.
The Spaniard could not avoid a blemish when he failed to find the green at the short 13th, but he atoned with further birdies at 15 and 16 and two solid pars completed a solid five-under round.
Garcia was joined in the clubhouse lead by his former Ryder Cup team-mate Molinari, who was no doubt inspired by his brother Edoardo retaining his European Tour card with a joint runner-up finish at the Qualifying School final stage.
The younger Molinari matched Garcia's outward 33 and hit back from a bogey at the 10th with three consecutive birdies from the 14th before parring in to stay at nine under.
Westwood got up and running with a birdie at the second, but he failed to convert a number of further chances in a run of 11 pars, a streak which he broke with a welcome birdie at the long 14th.
The 2009 champion made it a three-way tie at the top when he got another putt to drop at 16, but he blotted his card at the last after a mis-hit second landed in the hazard and led to a closing bogey-six for a round of 70.
Tyrrell Hatton roared home in 31 to match the earlier 66 of Andy Sullivan and move to seven under, but the most entertaining finish was provided by Bernd Wiesberger as the Austrian followed an eagle at 14 with another at the final hole to cap an excellent 67.
Joost Luiten (69) and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (67) both kept bogeys off their cards as they joined Hatton and Wiesberger on seven under, while Matt Fitzpatrick and Nicolas Colsaerts are just three off the lead at halfway.
The in-form Noren kick-started his bid for a fifth European Tour victory in 12 starts when he made three birdies in four holes around the turn to reach five under, but the Swede bogeyed 15 and 18 either side of another birdie in a 69.
Stenson had a ball stolen on the second and floored a female spectator with an errant tee shot at the 13th, but the firm Race to Dubai favourite was thankful for a hot putter as he posted four birdies in a 69, while Willett could not build on two birdies over the first three holes and had to settle for a 70.
But it would take something special over the weekend for McIlroy to hang on to his title, although his 68 got him under par for the tournament.
