McIlroy tied 2nd after birdie-eagle finish to 

complete second round at Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy ended a frustrating second round with a birdie-eagle finish after landing approach shots inside 2 feet to move back into contention at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Saturday.
The stunning conclusion to a weather-hit round that McIlroy described as "pretty average" left him tied for second with American amateur Bryson DeChambeau (72), two shots behind England's Andy Sullivan.
After making 15 pars and a bogey, McIlroy nearly holed a wedge shot on No. 17, before hitting a 5-wood from 268 yards to 18 inches on the last. He tapped in his eagle putt for a 70.
"I couldn't hole one from outside 2 feet so I thought I'd hit a couple of shots within 2 feet," McIlory said with a smile.
Play started nearly three hours late because of thick morning fog, with McIlroy and playing partners Rickie Fowler and top-ranked Jordan Spieth among 60 players still to finish their second round following a weather-affected Friday.
The marquee group still had five holes to play, but while Spieth parred his way home and cut a frustrated figure on the 18th green after a 1-over 73, McIlroy finally came to life after an erratic putting display up to the 17th hole.
"I said, 'Let's finish 3-3,'" the No. 3-ranked McIlroy said, "and I was able to. I knew I needed something."
Spieth is tied for 32nd at 3 under, seven shots off the lead. The American had 31 putts and carded his first over-par round in 22 rounds.
DeChambeau, the eccentric physics student who plays with a homemade set of irons that are all the same length and calls himself "The Golf Scientist," resumed his round on his 10th hole at 9 under -- one shot behind Sullivan. He started bogey-birdie and dropped another shot on his way in.
The reigning U.S. Amateur and NCAA champion is bidding to become the first amateur to win on the European Tour since Shane Lowry at the Irish Open in 2009. This is his first regular European Tour event and only seventh start in a professional tournament.
"I was having a little go with his clubs this morning -- he doesn't know that," McIlroy said of DeChambeau, whom he will play with in the third round. 
"It's obviously a technique that's all his own, and he has a pretty interesting background. Apart from that, I don't really know (much about him), except that he's much smarter than I am."
There was plenty of low scoring after the sun and a slight breeze removed the fog. Robert Rock, the 2012 champion, shot a 67 and was tied for fourth at 7 under with South Korea's Byeong-Hun An (68), No. 5-ranked Henrik Stenson (72), Thomas Bjorn (69) and David Howell (69). Joost Luiten (68) and Rafael Cabrera-Bello (67) were on the same score after finishing their second rounds Friday.
Fowler (68) and Martin Kaymer (69) were in a group a shot further back.
SCOTWATCH: Richie Ramsay, David Drysdale and Russell Knox were the only Scots to beat the second round cut. 
 
COMPLETED SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
 

1	Andy Sullivan*	67	67	.					134
T2	Bryson DeChambeau*	64	72						136
T2	Rory McIlroy	66	70						136
T4	Thomas Bjorn	68	69						137
T4	Byeong-Hun An	69	68						137
T4	Robert Rock*	70	67						137
T4	Henrik Stenson	65	72						137
T4	Rafael Cabrera-Bello*	70	67						137
T4	David Howell*	68	69						137
T4	Joost Luiten*	69	68						137
T4	Thongchai Jaidee	71	70						153
T12	Richard Bland*	67	71						138
T12	Martin Kaymer	69	69						138
T12	Rickie Fowler	70	68						138
T12	Peter Hanson	69	69						138
T16	Branden Grace	66	74						143
T16	Fabrizio Zanotti	70	69						139
T16	Ian Poulter*	70	69						139
T16	George Coetzee	69	72						155
T16	Eddie Pepperell*	70	71						155
T16	Jordan Spieth*	68	73						155
T16	Bradley Dredge	72	67						143
T16	Wade Ormsby	69	70						143
T16	Matthew Baldwin	69	70						139
T16	Richie Ramsay	73	66						139
T16	Trevor Fisher Jr.	69	70						139
T16	David Horsey	71	68						139
T16	Matthew Fitzpatrick*	68	71						139
T29	A Shun Wu	69	72						156
T29	Marcel Siem	72	68						149
T29	Niclas Fasth	68	72						144
32	Prom Meesawat	72	67						143
T33	Soren Kjeldsen*	69	72						157
T33	Michael Lorenzo-Vera*	70	72						150
T35	James Morrison	72	68						149
T35	Brett Rumford	73	67						149
T37	Mikko Ilonen*	71	71						153
T37	Alexander Noren*	72	70						153
T37	Brandon Stone*	73	69						150
T37	Johan Carlsson	69	71						145
T37	Maximilian Kieffer*	71	71						146
T42	Thomas Pieters*	69	73						151
T42	Bernd Wiesberger*	72	70						147
T42	Ben Evans	70	72						142
T45	Tyrrell Hatton*	72	69						157
T45	Pablo Larrazabal*	70	71						157
T45	Eduardo De La Riva	72	69						154
T48	David Drysdale*	71	71						154
T48	Roope Kakko	72	68						155
T48	Alejandro Canizares*	71	71						151
T48	Mikko Korhonen*	69	73						151
T48	Kristoffer Broberg*	73	69						147
T53	Michael Hoey	72	69						159
T53	Shiv Kapur*	74	69						143
T53	Oliver Fisher*	72	71						143
T53	Gregory Bourdy*	72	71						143
T53	Rikard Karlberg*	74	69						143
T53	Morten Madsen*	72	71						143
T53	Scott Jamieson	70	73						143
T53	Andrew Johnston	70	73						143
T53	Thorbjorn Olesen*	71	72						143
T53	Daniel Brooks	69	74						143
T53	Magnus A. Carlsson	71	72						143
T53	Ross Fisher	70	73						143
T53	Benjamin Hebert	71	72						143
T53	Scott Hend	72	71						143
T53	Danny Willett*	75	68						143
T53	Darren Clarke*	73	70						143
T53	Ricardo Melo Gouveia	72	71						143
T53	Russell Knox*	70	73						143
71	Simon Dyson	69	72						157
T72	Kiradech Aphibarnrat*	70	71						159
T72	Joakim Lagergren	70	73						143
T74	Lucas Bjerregaard	75	69	.	MC	.			144
T74	Nicolas Colsaerts	74	70		MC				144
T74	Tommy Fleetwood	72	72		MC				144
T74	Matt Ford*	73	71		MC				144
T74	Simon Khan	73	71		MC				144
T74	David Lipsky*	72	72		MC				144
T74	Renato Paratore*	69	75		MC				144
T74	Gary Stal	73	71		MC				144
T74	Marc Warren	74	70		MC				144
T74	Chris Wood	76	68		MC				144
T84	Felipe Aguilar	72	73		MC				145
T84	Pelle Edberg*	69	76		MC				145
T84	Alexander Levy	70	75		MC				145
T84	Wen-Chong Liang*	71	74		MC				145
T84	Hennie Otto*	74	71		MC				145
T84	John Parry	72	73		MC				145
T84	Alvaro Quiros*	75	70		MC				145
T84	Graeme Storm	74	71		MC				145
T84	Peter Uihlein	72	73		MC				145
T93	Jorge Campillo	73	73		MC				146
T93	Robert Dinwiddie	73	73		MC				146
T93	Marcus Fraser*	74	72		MC				146
T93	Sebastien Gros*	72	74		MC				146
T93	Trevor Immelman	74	72		MC				146
T93	Marcus Kinhult*	71	75		MC				146
T93	Chris Paisley*	73	73		MC				146
T93	Haydn Porteous*	73	73		MC				146
T93	Julien Quesne*	73	73		MC				146
T102	Bjorn Akesson	72	75		MC				147
T102	Andrew Dodt*	70	77		MC				147
T102	Victor Dubuisson*	70	77		MC				147
T102	Craig Lee	74	73		MC				147
T102	Borja Virto	72	75		MC				147
T102	Justin Walters*	71	76		MC				147
T108	Gregory Havret*	72	76		MC				148
T108	Raphael Jacquelin*	77	71		MC				148
T108	Paul Lawrie	77	71		MC				148
T108	Matteo Manassero*	72	76		MC				148
T108	Steve Webster*	75	73		MC				148
T113	Ernie Els*	73	76		MC				149
T113	Nacho Elvira	72	77		MC				149
T113	Lee Westwood*	73	76		MC				149
T116	Edouard Espana*	79	72		MC				151
T116	Daniel Im	75	76		MC				151
T116	Romain Wattel*	73	78		MC				151
T116	Oliver Wilson*	77	74		MC				151
120	Nathan Holman*	78	74		MC				152
121	Robert Karlsson	78	75		MC				153
122	Stephen Gallacher*	81	73		MC				154
123	Lee Slattery	72	83		MC				155
124	Yeon-jin Jeong*	82	74		MC				156
125	Mike Weir	80	77		MC				157
126	Ahmed Al Musharrekh*	83	81		MC				164
-	Darren Fichardt	-	-		-				-
-	Richard Green	-	-		-				-
-	Anthony Wall	-	-		-				-
* player started on back nine.