Rory McIlroy was pulled aside at Yas Links and shown the television pictures that would cost him two shots. His approach from 113 yards on the par-four 12th had missed the green, and his chip rolled back into a sandy divot. As Sky Sports reported, the footage showed a blade of grass bending behind the ball as he set up his recovery.

The double-bogey six he had signed for on the card became a quadruple-bogey eight. His four-under 68 became a two-under 70, dropping him into a share of 33rd on Thursday evening, locked together with Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra.

McIlroy accepted the ruling on sight.

“Obviously there’s no intent. Obviously that wasn’t my intent. The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot. So I’m happy to take a 2-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow,” he told Sky Sports.

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He conceded that the pictures were awkward, admitting the footage “doesn’t look very good” even though he did not feel he had pressed down on the turf.

Laporta sets the pace

While McIlroy was being briefed on the infraction, Francesco Laporta was dismantling Yas Links. The Italian signed for a 10-under 62 to lead by three from Jon Rahm, who returned from a seven-week break from LIV Golf with a bogey-free 65.

Patrick Reed, second in the Race to Dubai standings, sits roughly 330 points behind Chacarra and around 670 clear of McIlroy. He stumbled to a 74 on day one.

From 6 back to 8 back in a single ruling

McIlroy had responded to the mess at the 12th with three straight birdies from the 14th and walked off feeling he had rescued a strong card.

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The adjustment effectively turned a round six off the lead into one eight off it, according to Golf Monthly, with McIlroy now needing to make up heavy ground over the next three rounds to keep a Race to Dubai title charge alive.

1,500 points up for grabs this week

The Abu Dhabi Championship is the penultimate event of the 2026 DP World Tour season, with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai to follow. The winner this week collects 1,500 Race to Dubai points, a haul big enough to reorder the top of the standings before the Dubai finale.

Round two at Yas Links begins on Friday.

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