Rory McIlroy stormed into the lead at the Dubai Desert Classic as he completed his delayed second round with a stunning 64.
The Northern Irishman birdied the 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th and 18th to surge two shots clear of Jamie Donaldson on 15 under par.
Fog had delayed play for nearly three hours on Friday which meant McIlroy, Segio Garcia and Henrik Stenson were unable to finish their second round.
Resuming play on the 12th hole early on Saturday, the 28-year-old showed his class to edge into the lead on his second competitive tournament back in nearly four months.
“That was pretty nice,” said McIlroy.
“I knew with the conditions this morning there were chances out there, obviously with the two par fives and 17.
“To take care of those and birdie a couple others, to finish five under for my last seven was a nice way to finish this morning.
“I didn’t really have a score in mind or anything. I just wanted to go out there and play a good seven holes and hopefully get myself into contention for the last couple of rounds.
“I sort of did that and maybe a little bit more and it’s nice to go into the weekend in the lead.
“Probably got a bit of a break between now and going back out there so I’ll probably get a little bit of physio treatment, make sure everything’s okay and hit some balls and practise.
“Look forward to getting out there again this afternoon.”
