• DP World Tour Championship, Round Two

No separating Donald & McIlroy in Dubai

Sergio Garcia enjoyed a sparkling round in Dubai © Getty Images

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Leaderboard

Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Marc Warren find themselves in a three-way tie for the lead at the DP World Tour Championship, after another impressive day of golf on Friday.

Heading a packed leaderboard, Donald birdied the 18th at Jumeirah Golf Estates to join McIlroy and Warren at 11-under for the tournament - with his second round score of 68 just one shot shy of his rivals' matching 67s.

The Englishman never quite hit the heights of Thursday's opening 65, but he remains yet to record a bogey this week as four more birdies - two on either nine - ensured the overnight leader remained at the top of the leaderboard.

He needed to match McIlroy's mark to do so, however, after the world No. 1 finished at 11-under just a few minutes before the man who sits just behind him in the world rankings. McIlroy, coming off a woeful performance in Hong Kong, looked his usual self on Friday, with six birdies and just a solitary bogey putting him where he wants to be heading into the second half of the tournament.

All the attention is on the top two players in the world rankings, but Warren ensured he must not be overlooked heading into the weekend thanks to an error-free back nine where he picked up three birdies.

Two South Africans, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, head the chasing pack at 10-under par, with compatriot Charl Schwartzel and Scotland's Richie Ramsay a shot further back from them.

Justin Rose, meanwhile, is firmly in the mix at eight-under after a second successive round of 68.

A staggering 22 players are within four shots of the halfway lead. Sergio Garcia is one of them - the Spaniard firmly in contention at seven-under, after an eight-under par course record 64 catapulted him through the field.

Garcia, who recently underwent laser eye surgery, believes his improved eyesight is playing a slight role in his better play.

"It was unbelievable, wasn't it?" Garcia said of his round, adding on his eyesight: "I'm still kind of getting used to it.

"My sight's not changed immensely, but the main reason was that with contact lenses I was feeling very uncomfortable."

Lee Westwood needs that sort of performance on Saturday to get back into contention as he sits three-under for the tournament, with Ian Poulter a shot further back.

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