Abu Dhabi Championship: Daniel Hillier, Kazuma Kobori in contention; Tommy Fleetwood, Aaron Rai lead

Kiwi duo Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori remain in the hunt in the Abu Dhabi Championship as the tournament moves into the business end.

Hillier moved into a tie for 10th after the second round, carding a four-under 68 to sit 10-under at the halfway point.

The 27-year-old made seven birdies in his round, but three bogeys meant he gave a few shots back to the course – two of those coming on holes 15 and 17.

He sits in a seven-way tie for 10th, four shots off the pace set by English duo Aaron Rai and Tommy Fleetwood.

Fleetwood, who was joint leader after the first round, continued in kind with a six-under second round. At the halfway mark, Fleetwood has just one bogey on his scorecard along with 15 birdies.

Rai posted the joint best round of the day with an eight-under 64 to jump into a share of the lead. His round included five birdies and an albatross – holing out from 196m on the par-five second.

Kobori trended in the opposite direction in his second round, with a three-over 73 leaving him in a tie for 24th after holding a share of the round-one lead.

The 24-year-old didn’t have a poor round as such, with three birdies and a bogey, but a triple bogey on the par-five 18th meant he ended the day with an unflattering card.

At seven-under, he remains in a competitive position for the tournament and will look to make a move in the third round.

The tournament also shapes up as a last chance for players to earn their place in the DP World Tour Championship, in which the top 50 players on the season leaderboard make the field.

Going into this week’s event in Abu Dhabi, which was limited to the top 75, Kobori was ranked at No 38 with Hillier at No 20.

The tournament has a prize fund of US$9 million ($16m), with the winner taking home US$1.53m.