Rahm & Hatton Join Laporta at the Top at Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship

• Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Francesco Laporta share the lead at Yas Links.
• Rory McIlroy carded a 63 to sit one shot back with Adrian Meronk, Sam Bairstow and Matt Jordan.
• Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra is nine shots off the pace.

Francesco Laporta’s three-shot cushion did not survive Friday at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. The Italian followed his opening 62 with a 70. Ryder Cup team-mates Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm took advantage and joined him on 12-under at the halfway stage.

Hatton shot 65 and Rahm 67. Both men head into the weekend with five Rolex Series titles. Hatton drew level with the Spaniard’s record at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, so a win here would give either of them a record sixth.

How did Hatton and Rahm get there?

Hatton won this event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2021, and he has also played Yas Links well, with a second place and two other top-ten finishes in four starts. He birdied his first two holes, then made four in a row from the 6th to turn in 30. Further birdies at the 11th and 13th put him in the lead on his own, until a bogey at the 16th dropped him back into the pack.

“Really happy how I’ve played,” he said. “Obviously, there’s been a couple of mistakes. But overall, compared to where I’ve been at over the last month and a half, it’s nice to put a couple of decent scores together again.”

Rahm is making his Abu Dhabi debut and played in the final group of the day. He went in front with birdies at the 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Over the next seven holes he made four birdies and three bogeys, and a two-putt birdie at the last put him back on top.

“Pretty good play,” he said. “Only thing to take back would be just a couple of bad tee shots right now, feeling fairly comfortable otherwise. Just there’s been a couple of swings off the tee that were unexpected. But hopefully I can fix that, but otherwise the play has been lovely.

“I’m really looking forward to [the weekend]. This part of the world has treated me very well, and I’m hoping I can do on the weekend what I’ve already done.”

Laporta hangs on

Laporta arrived 57th in the rankings, and only the top 50 go on to Dubai. He was one over after six holes before three straight birdies from the 7th. He opened the back nine with a bogey followed by a birdie. A double bogey at the 14th threatened his round, but he got both shots back with birdies at the 15th and the last.

“I didn’t start very well, I was one over after six,” he said. “Then I made three birdies in a row, a few mistakes on the back nine, but few really in the last four. I’m quite happy about how I finished but still a lot of golf to play.”

McIlroy’s 11-birdie charge

McIlroy found an unplayable lie and bogeyed the 1st. He then birdied the 2nd, 4th and 7th before making five birdies in a row from the 9th. A bogey ended that run, but he picked up shots at three of his last four holes. His 11 birdies are the most he has made in a DP World Tour round.

The 63 also helps his pursuit of an eighth Race to Dubai title. Rankings leader Chacarra is back on 3-under.

Poland’s Meronk and England’s Jordan both shot 67 and Bairstow 68 to join McIlroy on 11-under. They lead Spain’s David Puig and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger by a shot.

Related: Championship Links, Grand Hotels and Capital Nights. Northern Ireland has it all in abundance.

Four days in Northern Ireland playing four very different golf courses, including a look at Portstewart's newly upgraded Strand. From Galgorm Castle's thermal spa village and Malone's lakeside closing stretch to Cairndhu's clifftop par three, trad music in Belfast and the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland offers golf and culture beyond expectations.

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Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship Leaderboard