McIlroy shoots 63 at Abu Dhabi to reach 11 under after two-shot penalty

An opening-round penalty

Rory McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty in the first round on Thursday, 5 November, after officials ruled that he had improved his lie at the 12th hole at Yas Links. The sanction turned a double bogey into a quadruple bogey eight, and he signed for a 70, two under par and eight shots behind the leader, Francesco Laporta. McIlroy said he did not believe he had done anything wrong, but he accepted the ruling because the close-up footage looked poor. He added that he had made peace with it before leaving the course and that it did not play on his mind in the second round.

“I'd much rather be two shots worse off than be called a cheat.”

A 63 built on birdies

On Friday, 6 November, McIlroy opened his second round with a bogey at the first, after taking a drop for an unplayable lie. He then picked up shots at the second, fourth and seventh holes before five straight birdies from the ninth to the 13th carried him up the leaderboard. A dropped shot at the 14th was followed by birdies at the 17th and 18th, giving him 11 birdies and two bogeys for a 63, nine under par. That put him 11 under for the tournament and on the clubhouse lead while several leaders were still on the course. It was the first time in his career that he had made 11 birdies in a single DP World Tour round.

“I saw a few more putts go in, which is something that I haven't been seeing for the last couple of months.”

Round 1, 5 November 202670

Round 2, 6 November 202663

Round 1, 5 November 2026

70 strokes

Round 2, 6 November 2026

63 strokes

Data from the article text

Putting work

McIlroy said he had worked on his putting with Brad Faxon in the week of 26 October 2026 and felt he was in a better place on the greens. He pointed to a second-place finish at Wentworth, where he said he could have won had he holed a few putts at the weekend, and to a struggle on the greens in India. He said he saw some encouraging signs on the greens on Friday. Those putting gains came after a stretch in which he had been missing putts for a couple of months.

Leaders and the Race to Dubai

Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Francesco Laporta were one shot ahead of McIlroy on 12 under in the reports from the round. Hatton had the best round of the three with a 65 and said he was happy with how he had played. Rahm signed for a 67, and Laporta recovered from a double bogey at the 14th to post a 70. In the Race to Dubai, McIlroy is third behind Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed, who both shot 71 on Friday and sat well down the field. McIlroy is chasing a fifth Race to Dubai title in a row and an eighth overall, which would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie.

What comes next

The top 70 Race to Dubai players are competing at Yas Links, and the top 50 progress to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in the week of 9 November 2026. McIlroy said he had given himself a great chance and that was all he could ask for. The final Race to Dubai rankings will be determined after that event, so the gap to Chacarra and Reed remains open.