Abu Dhabi Championship: Tommy Fleetwood joint top with Aaron Rai as Marco Penge edges ahead of Rory McIlroy
Tommy Fleetwood and fellow Englishman Aaron Rai finished joint top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship; Rory McIlroy is one shot behind his nearest rival in the Race to Dubai, Marco Penge
Friday 7 November 2025 14:08, UK
Tommy Fleetwood finished the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship sharing the lead with fellow Englishman Aaron Rai.
Ryder Cup star Fleetwood shot 66 on the second day at Yas Links to remain in first place at 14 under par, with seven birdies offset only by one bogey.
Rai shot a 64 on Friday to join Fleetwood at the top of the leaderboard.
- Leaderboard - Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
- Got Sky? Watch the majors on the Sky Sports app 📱
- Not got Sky? Stream majors and more with no contract 📺
Rai holed out from 214 yards for an albatross. His second shot at the par-five second hole pitched a few yards onto the green then rolled down into the cup.
Rory McIlroy was six shots behind the leaders on eight under par, carding a 68, the same as his opening-round score.
McIlroy leads the Race to Dubai standings and is attempting to win the season-long points race on the European Tour for a seventh time, which would put him just one behind Colin Montgomerie's record haul.
Marco Penge is McIlroy's nearest rival in the Race to Dubai and is a stroke ahead of the Northern Irishman at nine under par, having played in the same group for the first two days.
Three players - Andy Sullivan (67), Nicolai Hojgaard (67) and Richard Sterne (68) - were two strokes back from the leaders, while Shane Lowry was one of four players a further shot behind after a 69.
Fleetwood has to be 'relentless'
"Another really good day. I got off to the perfect start: birdie, birdie, birdie. So that was good, especially when you've had a good round the day before," Fleetwood said.
"I hit a lot of good shots, but there were a few times today where I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well. I felt like we did a really good job of controlling the ball out of the rough and that was really pleasing.
"I still think around this golf course there are plenty of shots that are very testing, the scores have been very low as well. If you're going to be up there come Sunday you're going to have to continue to be pretty relentless and keep hitting good shots and keep scoring. But I feel obviously good about my game and I'm doing so many things well. But I am also very aware of what the game can do to you as well."
He hopes to close out his season in style. "I really want to play well. I still have things that I want to achieve even with six rounds of golf to go into the season. It's so nice to get to the end of the year and be playing well," Fleetwood said.
"Hopefully I can put another good round in tomorrow and be competing on Sunday, and the same goes for next week as well. Preparing well, trying to play well, trying to compete all the way up to very, very last day of the season."
What's next?
Coverage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship continues on Saturday on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 4am, with Sunday's final round starting at 3.30am.
The DP World Tour Play-Offs conclude with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from November 13.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
