McIlroy one off the lead at World Tour Championship and in good shape to clinch Race to Dubai title

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The path is clear for Rory McIlroy to clinch the year-long Race to Dubai title and be crowned the European tour’s best player for a sixth time.

He’s well in contention to win the season-ending World Tour Championship, too.

McIlroy hit a fairway wood from 265 yards to 15 feet at No. 18 and two-putted for a closing birdie in his second round on Friday, a 3-under 69 leaving the No. 3-ranked Northern Irishman one stroke off the lead held by France’s Antoine Rozner (65) on 9-under par.

McIlroy was tied with Tyrrell Hatton (69) for second place in the tournament but his lead in the year-long Race to Dubai standings was looking impregnable.

Thriston Lawrence is the only player who can stop McIlroy winning that title — and to do that the South African needs a victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates. That appeared unlikely, with a 71 leaving Lawrence at level par and nine shots off the lead at the halfway stage.

“At this point, I’m just trying to win the golf tournament,” McIlroy said, “and if I win the golf tournament, then everything else that happens alongside that is nice.”

McIlroy, a former Dubai resident and a three-time winner at the Earth Course, shared the lead with Hatton overnight and raced two strokes clear after making four birdies in his opening seven holes, including a 25-foot putt at No. 3. He faded after that, missing the fairway on each of his next three holes and making two bogeys.

The only birdie in McIlroy's final 11 holes came at the last and it was set up by a majestic approach over water that might have been the shot of the day.

“A little disappointed that I didn’t kick on after such a great start,” McIlroy said, before adding: “Nice way to finish and a good position going into the weekend right there.”

Six Race to Dubai titles would put McIlroy level with the late Seve Ballesteros and two behind Colin Montgomerie's record haul.

Rozner, ranked No. 154, was the surprise leader after making six birdies in an eight-hole span from No. 9.

He is one of many players in the 50-man field seeking a high finish to secure one of the 10 PGA Tour cards on offer for next season. Winning the tournament will guarantee that bonus prize, so it's potentially a life-changing weekend for players like Rozner.

“I need a really good weekend for that,” said Rozner, who won the last of his three European tour titles in Mauritius in December 2022. "I’m going to try to focus on having two solid days. See how it goes at the end.

“I think if I can have a chance on Sunday to either win it or get one of those cards, it would be great.”

Joaquin Niemann shot 67 and was alone in fourth place, two shots off the lead. There was a four-way tie a further stroke back between Rasmus Hojgaard (67), Jesper Svensson (67), Shane Lowry (67) and Keita Nakajima (69).

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Keita Nakajima of Japan hits a shot from a bunker on the 4th hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark hits a shot from a bunker on the 18th hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Tyrell Hatton of England plays his second shot on the 2nd hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Tyrell Hatton of England reacts after he missed a shot on the 13th green during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his second shot on the 2nd hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his second shot on the 3rd hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot from a bunker on the 4th hole during the second round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Linkin Park, the inventive American rap-rock band who wove electronica into its heavy, melodic compositions, return with their first new album in seven years, “From Zero.” It's a reference to their earliest days — when the band was known as Xero — a reclamation of their angry and ascendant sound, and something else entirely.

It started in September. Linkin Park debuted their first new music since the 2017 death of lead singer Chester Bennington: a new song titled “The Emptiness Machine,” with new singer Emily Armstrong of the band Dead Sara and drummer Colin Brittain, joining returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix and Joe Hahn. (Shinoda and Armstrong share vocal duties.)

It was a surprising return; as AP wrote at the time, Armstrong’s performance style comfortably continuing the band’s legacy. Her full-throated vocals recalled Bennington without attempting parody. That spirit continues throughout "From Zero," Armstrong stretching out a scream into the kind of raspy, vibrato-fake out immediately recognizable as a Bennington-ism.

In his absence, however, Shinoda takes more of the vocal lead. And in some points, it is to the band's detriment, like on “Cut the Bridge.” Elsewhere, it's a revisitation to “Meteora”-era LP, like on the fistful “Heavy Is the Crown.” Ultimately, he makes a fine solo leader.

More melodic moments may sound like the work of another band entirely when performed by Armstrong, like on “Over Each Other," but that's quickly abandoned for the nu-metal ferocity of the track that follows, “Casualty.”

It's an easy impulse, to look for Bennington on this album. One of the most rewarding moments arrives on “Two Faced": “I can’t hear myself think,” Armstrong speak-sings, before launching into a guttural bellow, “Stop yelling at me.” It has echoes of Linkin Park's career-defining hits, like “One Step Closer.” The necessary reminder to the listener, then, should be that this is the same band just in the midst of a transformation. Much is intact: The album is produced by Shinoda and it sounds it; signatures of Hahn, the band's DJ, turntablist and creative director, exist throughout.

But it is also possible the controversy surrounding Armstrong will overshadow some fans’ enjoyment of the record. Shortly after the new lineup debuted, the singer posted a statement on Instagram that many took to mean her appearance at an early court hearing for “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the rape of two women in 2023.

Shortly thereafter, Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks, told Rolling Stone she had no idea the band was going to continue on without her son — and that they previously said they'd give her a heads up; they did not.

For some Linkin Park fans, it is a nonstarter. For the others who will dive into “From Zero,” there are echoes of the band they loved.

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This cover image released by Warner Records shows "From Zero" by Linkin Park. (Warner Records via AP)