Shane Lowry's challenge for a second Abu Dhabi Championship was dented by back-to-back closing bogeys as he lies three strokes off the leaders at the halfway point in Yas Island.
Lowry - who won the tournament in 2019 - carded a second round 69 to sit on 11 under, with playing partner Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai sharing top spot on the leaderboard.
The Offaly man had tied the lead after 13 holes following his birdie at the short 13th hole. Prior to that, he had registered birdies at the second and 10th holes.
His push was turbo-charged by an eagle at the par-five 11th, despite appearing to thin his approach shot, which Lowry himself labelled "the worst best shot of all-time" before the ball came to a halt 11ft from the cup.
Just like that, @ShaneLowryGolf 😉#ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/k0ivRK7BHe
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 7, 2025
However, things became ragged from then, Lowry slicing his drive into the water on the right side of the 14th and making double-bogey.
He reacted brilliantly to this with successive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, both coming following superb approach shots.
That work was undone on the finishing holes, Lowry missing the green at the par-three 17th and then finding a fairway bunker at 18 before missing the green with his third shot at the par-five. The ensuing bogey six left him with a three-under-par round on Friday and tied-sixth heading into the weekend.
Lowry's playing partner Fleetwood maintained his stellar form with a round of 66, to share the halfway lead with his compatriot Rai. The only blemish on the FedEx Cup winner's round was a bogey at the 17th, his sole dropped shot of the week so far.
Rai's round was ignited by a stunning albatross at the par-five second and was followed by five more birdies as he carded an eight-under-par 64, equalling the score of Lowry and Fleetwood on Thursday. The English pair are tied on the top of the leaderboard on 14 under.
They are two strokes clear of a trio of players on 12 under, South Africa's Richard Sterne, England's Andy Sullivan and Danish Ryder Cup player from 2023, Nicolai Hojgaard.
Rory McIlroy is six strokes back from the leaders on eight under after a second successive 68.
McIlroy carded five birdies on his opening nine, with just one dropped stroke at the third for an outward 32.
However, he lost that momentum on the way home, with a bogey at the 10th and just one more birdie coming at the par-three 13th.
Tom McKibbin remains near the foot of the field despite a decent 69 on Friday. The Down golfer, who secured his spot at the Masters in Augusta with victory in Hong Kong last weekend, had taken himself out of contention with a round of 75 on Thursday, including two double-bogeys.
He carded a blemish-free round on Friday, with three birdies on the back nine, but is still tied-66th in a 72-strong field at even par overall.
