For his second straight tournament, Tommy Fleetwood will head into the weekend with at least a share of the 36-hole lead. The Englishman followed up his sensational 8-under 64 on Thursday with a 66 on Friday to maintain his overnight co-lead with fellow countryman Aaron Rai at 14 under halfway through the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship.
Among a pack of five to sleep on the lead after 18 holes, Fleetwood was the lone man to maintain his position atop the leaderboard. His playing partner the first two days, Shane Lowry, remains within shouting distance after a second-round 69 puts him at 11 under with players such as Nicolai Højgaard (-12) and Alex Noren (-10) rounding out the top 10.
“Really good day,” Fleetwood said. “I got off to, like, the perfect start — birdie, birdie, birdie. That was good, especially when you’ve had a good round the day before. They always say it’s hard to follow up a good round with another good one, or a low one with another one.
“Starting good was really important. I just did a really good job — I hit a lot of good shots, but a few times today where I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well. I felt like we did a great job of controlling the ball out of the rough, and that was really pleasing. I feel like I putted solid again. 6 under was a very good score.”
Fleetwood is projected to move up to No. 5 in the Race to Dubai standings should he hold on to the victory. It would mark his second straight trip into the winner’s circle and the third in his last five worldwide starts dating back to his breakthrough win on the PGA Tour at the Tour Championship.
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It will not be given to him, however. Rai was spectacular in his own right on Friday at Yas Links. Shooting out of the blocks with an albatross on the par-5 2nd from 218 yards, the 30-year-old kept the momentum rolling throughout the entirety of his round and ultimately signed for a 64 tying for the low round of the day.
“Any time you hit close to 18 greens, you’ve had a good day out there, let alone 18,” Rai said. “The course is in incredible condition. If you hit a lot of fairways, it certainly gives you control. The green complexes are fantastic out here, as well, with being able to use the slopes, change your flights, change your shapes. It’s a pleasure being out here and nice to play well, as well.”
The tournament leaderboard experienced some shuffling on Friday, but the season-long race remains where it started the week. Rory McIlroy backed up his opening 68 with another in Round 2 to sneak inside the top 20 at 8 under while his closest competitor, Marco Penge, matched his second-round score to remain one clear of him at 9 under.
“It’s been great,” Penge said. “Obviously it’s tough when you’re both trying to beat each other. So I didn’t want to get in the way too much or ask too many questions. But he definitely gave me a lot of time, and it was nice to walk the fairways with him and hopefully spend some more time with him in the future and learn a couple of tricks.”