Shane Lowry is three shots adrift of Italian pair Francesco Molinari and Guido Migliozzi at the halfway stage in the Abu Dhabi Championship after carding a two-under par-round of 70 on Friday at Yas Island.
Lowry, who won the event at its former home at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2019, had an eventful second round, registering six birdies and four dropped strokes. He also needed to hole a 12-foot putt to save bogey on the 18th.
The reigning BMW PGA champion appeared set to post a low number, reaching nine-under for the tournament following three birdies in four holes around the turn, but he endured a messy closing stretch, with dropped shots at 13, 15 and 18, somewhat mitigated by a final birdie at the 16th. Lowry remains inside the top 10 in a tie for ninth.
Seamus Power fell back on Friday after his impressive opening 66 in the opening round. The Waterford golfer posted a round of 73 to finish on five-under in a tie for 22nd.
Beginning the day two off the lead, Power's second round was bookended by dropped strokes at the 1st and 18th, with further bogeys at 12 and 14.
Power, who won his second PGA Tour event at the Bermuda Championship in October, did register birdies at the par-5s at 8 and 11, with another arriving at 15 to stay in the hunt.
Padraig Harrington carded a one-over 73 but he will return for the weekend as Thursday's excellent 68 means he's three-under overall.
It was a good day at the office too for Tom McKibbin, who is three-under through 16 holes of his second round. Play was suspended overnight before McKibbin could finish his round which he will resume at 7.15am local time on Saturday morning.
At the head of the field, 2018 champion Molinari continued his resurgence with a second successive 67, placing him a tie for the lead with his compatriot Migliozzi, who birdied his final hole for a second round 69.
Molinari, who began on the 10th, recovered from a double-bogey and bogey in successive holes on 16 and 17 to post a stunning inward nine of 30 with six birdies and no dropped strokes.
Molinari won three times in 2018, including the Open at Carnoustie and BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, before becoming the first European player to compile a perfect 5-0 record in that year's Ryder Cup.
"I'm very pleased," Molinari said. "Same score as Thursday but very different day. Many more ups and downs than yesterday. A couple of three-putts, a couple of mental errors but also lots of good stuff, a couple of long putts made.
"Obviously a very good back nine, which is nice. I think where I'm at at the moment, when you go through a tough patch, it's nice to see that I can pick it up again.
"I don't want to get ahead of myself. It's a couple of good rounds but I know, I'm aware of where I'm coming from. The game feels different. I think it looks different, too. But yeah, it's just two rounds, so a long way to go."
Australia's Jason Scrivener lies a shot off the lead following a second round of 70. He is followed by a cluster of players on eight-under which includes Victor Perez and Alexander Bjork. Joining Lowry in the group on seven-under are New Zealand's Ryan Fox and reigning Irish Open champion Adrian Meronk.
Overnight leader and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald fell five shots off the pace after adding a 75 to his opening 64.
Additional reporting: Press Association
