Rory McIlroy holds a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Invitational after recovering from a quadruple bogey in his second round.

Leading by two after round one, the Northern Irishman picked up two shots but carded a seven at the par-three eighth after finding the water twice.

Three birdies on the back nine saw him post a one-under 70 and lead Germany’s Yannik Paul and Denmark’s Jeff Winther.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood shot a 69 and is three shots adrift in joint fourth.

“If I look at the other 17 holes, I played very, very well again,” said four-time major winner McIlroy, who birdied the 10th, 13th and 15th holes to remain on course to start his year with a win.

“I hit some good iron shots and maybe holed a couple more putts yesterday but the conditions are getting trickier.

“The wind was up, the greens are firm and I had a couple of miscues on the eighth. I felt like I did well to get my head back into it and play some solid golf on the way in.”

Fleetwood, who started the day on five under, slipped to four under before picking up shots on three of his last six holes to remain in the hunt alongside fellow Englishman Jordan Smith.

Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen is also on seven under, one shot ahead of fellow countryman Rasmus Hojgaard, whose twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard lost ground after carding a 71.

The Dubai Invitational consists of 60 professionals and 60 amateurs. The 72-hole individual strokeplay tournament is played concurrently with a 54-hole pro-am team event, which runs from Thursday to Saturday.

There is no cut in the 72-hole pro event.

McIlroy, who is playing for the first time since November, will remain in the Middle East next week to defend his Dubai Desert Classic title.