2024 DP World Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann in hunt after Round 2

Some of the top players in the game aim to track down Antoine Rozner over the weekend in Dubai

A relative surprise tops a star-studded leaderboard at the 2024 DP World Tour Championship through two rounds of action at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Estates. Antoine Rozner finds his name one clear of Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton and two clear of Joaquin Niemann after a second-round 65 catapulted him to 9 under for the tournament. Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Rasmus Højgaard are among others within a handful of the lead inside the top 10.

Unlike the triumvirate that chases him, Rozner looks for more than just another trophy; a victory would also secure one of the 10 PGA Tour cards up for grabs and push the Frenchman to No. 2 in the final Race to Dubai standings. Meanwhile, McIlroy appears well on his way to another season-long crown as he has opened up a seven-shot lead over his lone competitor, Thirston Lawrence, who sits in a tie for 34th. 

"The confidence has been pretty high the last few months," Rozner said. "Besides the last two weeks, Korea and Abu Dhabi, I was struggling to get everything together. But no, I just think the confidence clicked and everything is going the right way. We're doing a really good job with my caddie as well. Yeah, it's key and the margins are very small in this game. So sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Today was one of them."