Nicolai Hojgaard takes command in Dubai after red-hot second round

The Dane is making his third appearance at the season-ending event on the Earth Course, where he came fourth on his debut in 2021 before lifting the trophy two years later.

Hojgaard began the day three shots behind leader Michael Kim, but an eagle and five birdies saw him catapult to the top of the leaderboard thanks to a flawless 65 - the lowest round of the week so far - to reach 12 under par.

There is a stellar chasing pack in hot pursuit, with his 2023 European Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy sat alongside Daniel Hillier and fellow Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen at nine under.

"It's great to be back, it's one of my favourite tournaments and courses to play," Højgaard said.

"I stayed really patient again. Yesterday was a really good round and I feel that I actually played a little bit better today. It's just staying patient.

"There are plenty of chances out there, but it's easy to make a silly bogey out of being too aggressive so trying to navigate my way around there a little bit. Staying patient has been the highlight so far.

"It suits my eye. You talk about golf courses suiting your eye, I really like it off the tee. It's a precision course as well, it's a mix of a driver down to a four-iron and it plays into my strength which is mid-irons.

"It's just a really good fit for me and I've played some really good golf again so hopefully we can keep it up."

Canter, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, Swede Alex Noren and Fleetwood are one shot further back at eight under.