McIlroy and Hatton share the lead at the DP World Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton are tied for the lead at five under par at the halfway stage of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. BBC Sport reports that the pair sit ahead of the rest of the field at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the season-ending event on the European tour.

Under par means the number of strokes a player is below the course's set total. Five under is a strong place to be at halfway, but nobody has won anything yet.

McIlroy opened with a three-under 69 and followed it with a 70 in the second round. Hatton shot a 69 in the second round, with five birdies (a score of one under on a hole) and two bogeys (one over).

One shot further back, at four under, are Joost Luiten and Kristoffer Reitan. The chasing group is close enough that one good afternoon could change the picture on the leaderboard.

The week carries a bigger prize than the trophy. The Race to Dubai is the season-long points table, and Eugenio Chacarra led it when the event began. Chacarra is one under after two rounds, four shots behind McIlroy.

McIlroy is chasing his eighth Race to Dubai title. A win this week would equal the record of eight season-long titles held by Colin Montgomerie. McIlroy has two rounds to turn a three-shot tie into a lead he can protect.

Two rounds in, the leaders are still close enough that a single bad hole would put them out of reach. The weekend will decide who has the nerve to hold a lead in the sun.