Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros share lead in Hong Kong
- Published
Rory McIlroy fell back into a tie for the lead with Alvaro Quiros in the Hong Kong Open after bogeying two of his last three holes in the second round.
The US Open champion and Spanish player Quiros both carded a one-under-par 69 to lie a shot clear on seven under.
Richie Ramsay and Panupol Pittayarat are six under in a tie for third.
But Oliver Wilson, a member of the 2008 Ryder Cup side, and Nick Dougherty, a triple European Tour winner, have lost their Tour cards after missing the cut.
Only the top 115 in the European order of merit gain tour cards but the British duo, aged 31 and 29 respectively, will now finish the season outside the required positions.
McIlroy, meanwhile, is third in the order of merit, £970,000 behind leader Luke Donald, who is not playing in Hong Kong and a win would help to cut Donald's lead heading into the Dubai World Championship.
McIlroy blamed his poor finish on a hectic schedule that he admits was self-inflicted.
"I'm mentally and physically fatigued and it showed in a couple of tired swings towards the end," said McIlroy.
"I don't think the season was long, I made the season long for myself. It was not as if I was obligated to play."
McIlroy has had a busy two months, playing in a number of lucrative unsanctioned events including the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters where he won golf's richest purse of $2m (£1.3m).
The 22-year-old also figured in a week-long jaunt across China sponsored by a Hong Kong tycoon's property company, where he played 18 holes spread across seven cities.
"The last 10 weeks have been long. It has been an experience, something I can learn from in the future," McIlroy said.
"It is all a matter of rest. I had two weeks off in the Maldives in-between the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and the World Cup [in Hainan last week] but I got sick during this time and I was on the drip for three days."
Philippines player Pittayarat and Scotland's Ramsay fired second-round scores of 65 and 66, respectively.
Two-time Hong Kong Open champion Jimenez (70) and New Zealander Lee (65) are in contention on five under.
England's David Horsey, who had a share of the lead after the opening day, slipped to four under after a 72.
Gareth Maybin kept alive his hopes of retaining his European Tour card with a hole-in-one on the par-three fourth as part of a 73, which saw him finish on one under.
Peter Lawrie (69) is two under while Dubliner Padraig Harrington (71) is one over at the halfway stage.
Michael Hoey (71) missed the cut by five shots on nine over with Damien McGrane (76) further back on 13 over.
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