McIlroy remains in contention with  birdie-birdie-eagle

Rory McIlroy remains in contention with birdie-birdie-eagle result in Dubai Rory McIlroy's first 33 holes at the DP World Tour Championship were,

as he put it, "pretty mediocre". He was right. Seven birdies against six bogeys to open his championship is really quite average by his lofty standards.

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Then came the final three holes on Friday in Dubai. With Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton in front at 12 under, McIlroy needed some magic to keep the leaders within reach heading into the weekend.

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A birdie-birdie-eagle finish after a lackluster start certainly qualifies as magic for the world's No.1 player.

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"It was nice to finish with a swing and at least have some positivity going into the weekend," The four-time major champion was asked if anything clicked at the end of his round.

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"I think it just happened," McIlroy said. “She hit two beautiful shots on 16 and hit a really nice iron shot on 17. And then I got lucky on the last one.

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I tried to climb the left side of the creek and ended up going up the right side. It's one of those, you're in the middle of it and maybe you're missing it on one side or the other.

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Even with a stellar finish, McIlroy finds himself seven shots off the lead shared by the two Englishmen."Obviously Fitz makes it difficult for me,

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