Golf: McIlroy driving hard and far in the desert

Rory McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy's 67 in the second round at Abu Dhabi highlighted just how much he adores standing on a fairway, peering back as his partners play their approaches from behind.

As a wee scrap of a boy, he would astound onlookers when he sent the ball extraordinary distances with his driver. That will always be the wand from which his magic is conjured and Phil Mickelson is just one admirer who will testify to it.

"That back nine of Rory's was very impressive, a beautiful nine holes of golf. These last few days, his driving has been impeccable."

Mickelson arrived in the desert warning his rivals that Callaway had made him a driver which he called "my new special armoury" and with which he felt confident of producing "the best year of my career".

No doubt it still could be. But compared to McIlroy's Nike, it was a mere pea-shooter, as he shot a 70 to lie six behind his playing partner, who is two off the nine-under lead held by Scotsman Craig Lee and Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

Mickelson is not yet finding the sweet spot. It was the same for McIlroy a year ago, when he missed the cut in Abu Dhabi because of his unfamiliarity with the new Nike clubs he had switched to in a 78 million deal.

In 2013, McIlroy, for the most part, played poorly. Expect the reverse in 2014.

On the par-five 18th, he was in a different postcode to Mickelson off the tee. The result was his sixth birdie to make it an inward 31.

"Standing there 30 yards ahead of everyone else is great," McIlroy said.

Ironically, McIlroy's most extraordinary strike came when he made the one error with his driver. From thick rough on the left of the 14th, he hit a nine iron from 155 yards to a few feet.