Play starts in Abu Dhabi after another delay for morning fog

ABU DHABI Jan 23 Jordan Spieth featured in a six-ball on his last green in fading light at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Saturday as he became one of the few golfers to finish a fog-interrupted third round.

“It’s a really bunched leaderboard”, said McIlroy, who ended his second round on Saturday morning with a birdie-eagle finish to be tied for second.

His group of Pablo Larrazabal and Soren Kjeldsen had to join the previous three-ball (Eddie Pepperell, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Tyrrell Hatton) on the ninth tee at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, their 18th hole having started from the 10th – to make it a sprint to the finish line.

That left a five-way tie atop the leaderboard between McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Branden Grace and Joost Luiten at 10-under par.

Halfway leader Andy Sullivan was two clear of the pack as he approached his final hole of the day – the ninth – with darkness descending, but he lost his ball after an errant drive and ran up a triple-bogey seven to slip one behind the leading quintet. Although fog delayed the start and the finish of round 2 the drama that unfolded was worth the wait. 15 and 17. He squandered a chance to be in the final group with Fowler when he drove into the bunker at No. 18 – a par 5 playing easy on Sunday – and missed an 8-foot putt for birdie.

Fowler and McIlroy have seven and nine holes left to play, respectively, in the third round at Abu Dhabi Golf Course.

“I thought if it could have been maybe one better – I had a three-putt on five – but I thought it was a solid nine holes, and I did what I needed to do. That’s obviously nice as the first tournament of the year”, the 40-year-old told reporters. “I’m struggling with my alignment on the greens and with my wedges, so I’m just not getting those extra chances”, the Abu Dhabi debutant said.

Fowler went under the radar after opening with a 70 in a high-profile marquee group for the first two rounds with Spieth and McIlroy.

“We played a lot together previous year and I’m forever egging him on, trying to help him”.

On Saturday, he was shouting “Woohoo” and high-fiving his caddie after blasting away his tee shot to beat the horn that sounded at the top of his backswing, announcing a suspension in play.

“He is fun to play with and I really enjoy his company”.

Kapur, who got into the field with an invitation after losing his card in 2015, started the week with a round of two-over 74, then added three-under 69 on second day to make the cut at one-under.

This is only three shots off the lead, which the American deems remarkable given his wayward putter. My only bogey at the last stemmed from my tee shot being two yards off the fairway on the right.