Rory McIlroy holds a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Dubai Invitational after recovering from a quadruple bogey in his second round.
Leading by two after the first round, the Northern Irishman made two shots but got a seven at the par-three eighth after twice finding the water.
Three birdies on the back nine saw him post a score of under 70 and move ahead of German Yannik Paul and Dane Jeff Winther.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood shot a 69 and is three shots behind in fourth place.
“If I look at the other 17 holes, I still played very, very well,” said four-time major winner McIlroy, who birdied the 10th, 13th and 15th holes to stay on track and start his year with a victory.
“I hit some good iron shots and maybe made a few more putts yesterday, but the conditions are getting tougher and tougher.
“The wind picked up, the greens are firm and I made a few mistakes on the eighth. I felt like I did a good job of getting my head back in the game and playing solid golf coming in.”
Fleetwood, who started the day at five under, slipped to four under before sinking shots on three of his final six holes to stay in contention alongside fellow Englishman Jordan Smith.
Dane Thorbjorn Olesen is also at seven under, one shot ahead of compatriot Rasmus Hojgaard, whose twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard lost ground after scoring a 71.
The Dubai Invitational consists of 60 professionals and 60 amateurs. The 72-hole individual stroke tournament is played concurrently with a 54-hole pro-am team event, which runs Thursday through Saturday.
There is no cut in the 72-hole professional event.
McIlroy, playing for the first time since November, will remain in the Middle East next week to defend his title at the Dubai Desert Classic.