Rafa Cabrera-Bello, the 2012 victor of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, is in contention to repeat the feat this year and is relaxed about his prospects for the weekend ahead.
Advertisement
His liking for the course is further illustrated by second and third-place finishes on the desert layout either side of those historic back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014.
McIlroy said that he did contemplate the possibility of missing the cut.
“Coming here is like coming to your home club”, he told the Evening News. So I know it quite well.
“There’s a lot of players between myself and the lead but at the same time, I’ve come back from bigger deficits than this and this is one of my favourite places”. It was all on the greens and it was getting into my head everywhere. I’m confident I’m doing all parts of the game well. “I would love to be in the mix with him”.
A three-time victor here, Els, by his own reckoning, is loving the course. “Things seem to be going my way at the moment”.
“But I feel a lot more comfortable now”.
“Now it’s starting to feel very normal”.
There has been something of a question mark raised about McIlroy’s form on the greens in recent times but he said it was now going in the right direction. It produced one of my best performances (third behind McIlroy) a year ago.
“Looking forward to this year”.
Els also revealed how badly last year’s yips were affecting him. He had three birdies in his last three holes. “When you do something like that, it gives you great confidence”. He needs a really good weekend to leave satisfied.
McIlroy had bogeyed his opening hole for the second day running and showed his frustration at three-putting the fourth by throwing his ball into the lake beside the green.
“I struggled in the wind a little bit and didn’t get off to the best of starts again”, said the world number two.
Prominent among players who missed the cut at one-under par included two-time champion Stephen Gallachers, European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
“I think if anyone says they don’t think about it (how the round will play when leading), they are lying”. So it’s always great to be back. “I just need to make sure I get off to a fast start tomorrow”. “To think the tournament is older than I am is testimony to its strength and popularity amongst top pros”.
Advertisement
He is also a two-time champion of the Dubai Desert Classic and completed a Dubai double past year, winning the DP World Tour Championship in November.
