Start of Hero Dubai Desert Classic Day 2 delayed by two hours due to overnight rain

Start of Friday's play at Emirates Golf Club pushed back to 10am

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Day 2 of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic will be delayed by two hours after more overnight rain left areas of the Majlis Course flooded.

The gates are open to the public at Emirates Golf Club, although the course remains closed and players have yet to arrive at the range.

Play had been due to restart at 8am, with players who saw their opening round on Thursday curtailed by bad light set to finish their remaining holes.

The remaining half of the entry list, who did not get out on the course at all on Thursday, were due to begin at 8.20am.

Now those respective start times have been rescheduled to 10am and 10.20am.

Rory McIlroy will return to the 7th green, where he opted to mark a four-foot putt on Thursday evening, rather than finish off after the horn blew.

The world No 1 is on 2-under par, three strokes behind the leader, Thomas Pieters.

The Belgian will himself be returning to the 7th-tee to restart his first round at 5-under.

McIlroy's playing partners both enjoyed promising starts. Ryan Fox did manage to finish up at the par-3 7th, after firing his tee shot to within a foot of an ace.

Tommy Fleetwood landed his own tee shot to within a similar range, only for it to run through the green and end on the fringe.

The Englishman is 4-under par for the 15 holes he has played so far.

That puts him in a share for second place with five other players. Oliver Wilson, Daniel Gavins and Matthew Gavins all managed to finish their rounds within the four hours and 20 minutes that was played on Thursday. Each signed for a 68.

Patrick Reed is also on 4-under par through 16 holes, as is Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Victor Perez, having completed 15 holes.

Day 1 of the Dubai Desert Classic

Updated: January 27, 2023, 8:40 AM