DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy achieved separation from main rival Danny Willett by two shots in the second round of the European Tour season finale on Friday.

McIlroy, bidding to top the tour for the third time in four years, carded consecutive 68s to be at 8-under-par 136, four off Andy Sullivan’s lead in the World Tour Championship.

On a day when most players went low, McIlroy could only match his opening round, including five birdies, and one bogey on the par-3 6th. He birdied only one of the four par 5s at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“Two solid rounds of golf so far,” McIlroy said. “I felt like yesterday it could have been a lot better. And today, I felt like I hit the ball a little better. It wasn’t quite as scrappy.

“I don’t think I’ve taken advantage of the par 5s quite the way I would have liked to, but if I can do that over the next couple of days, and keep giving myself plenty of chances, I should be close on Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Willett, tied with McIlroy in the first round, shot a 2-under 70. The Englishman started well with birdies on Nos. 2-3, but bogeyed No. 5, and No. 16 immediately after a birdie on 15. He needed to hole a 15-footer for par on the last and keep his hopes alive.

Sullivan shot a second straight 66 to be at 12-under 132 for a one-shot lead over the equally in-form Emiliano Grillo, who posted the low round of the day, a bogey-free 8-under 64.

Sullivan has won three European Tour events this season – South African Open, Joburg Open, Portugal Masters – and was being cheered on here by 30 friends and relatives who have travelled from his hometown of Nuneaton, England.

He treated them to some stunning putts; a 50-footer for birdie on the 12th, one from nearly 30 feet on the 14th, and a 40-fooer from behind the 18th green.

“The putter just seemed to get crazy hot from the one on the 12th hole, and everything I looked at, pretty much went in,” Sullivan said. “It’s a nice feeling.”

Grillo started and finished with birdies to reach 11 under overall. He hasn’t won on the Euorpean Tour, but won the Frys.com Open, the first tournament of the new U.S. PGA Tour season last month, two weeks after he secured his card by winning the Web.com Tour Championship.

Two behind the Argentine was American Patrick Reed, who birdied five of his last six holes to close with a 65.

Reed was one shot ahead of McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel (65), and Thongchai Jaidee (67).

Two-time defending champion Henrik Stenson closed with a 69 to be 2 over for the tournament. At one stage, after six holes, the Swede was 9 over before making seven birdies in his last 12 holes.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy birdied his last hole to pace Danny Willett in their chase for the Race to Dubai trophy on the opening day of the World Tour Championship on Thursday.

McIlroy chipped in from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole to card a 4-under-par 68, tied with English golfer Willett, two shots behind the four leaders.

The pair are the main contenders to finish No. 1 for the season in the European Tour finale, McIlroy for the third time in four years, and Willett for the first time. Five others are in contention, but whoever finishes higher between McIlroy and Willett is expected to claim the trophy.

Martin Kaymer, English pair Ian Poulter and Andy Sullivan, and Australian Marcus Fraser topped the leaderboard with 6-under 66s at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Two-time defending champion Henrik Stenson dropped five shots in his last four holes to finish on 77.

McIlroy made the turn at 2 under, bogeyed the 10th, recovered with consecutive birdies, and capped his round with an accurate chip off his fourth shot.

“Nice way to finish,” he said. “It was a bit scrappy before that. In between those birdies (on 11-12) and the birdie at the last, there was a bit of ugly golf in there.”

Willett had a similar round: He went 2 under going out, bogeyed one soon after the turn, and birdied the last hole.

“It’s what everyone wanted, it’s very close,” Willett said. “It’s going to be a great tussle all week.”

Poulter made just one birdie on the four par-5 holes, but the Englishman didn’t do much wrong in a bogey-free round.

“Took care of the par 4s and the par 3s, just didn’t really take care of the par 5s.” he said. “There were other birdie opportunities that I would expect to hole. Most of those putts are inside 10 feet. I hit 17 greens in regulation and just two missed fairways . that’s pretty solid.”

Kaymer, winless this season like Poulter, made a couple of bogeys, including one on the par-3 sixth, where he went into the water. But he made up for that with eight birdies.

Sullivan eagled the par-5 7th, and Fraser was 7 under through 14 holes but bogeyed the 16th to fall into the tie for the lead.

Francesco Molinari, on 67, was between the leaders and McIlroy, Willett and six others on 68.

Justin Rose, who was third in the Race to Dubai, made successive bogeys in his last two holes in a 1-under 71.

Patrick Reed was one shot better.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy is planning to round off his season as the European number one with a winning performance at the DP World Tour Championship this week.

Top of the standings, McIlroy is in pole position among seven players with a chance of winning the Race to Dubai on Sunday after the last event of the European Tour season at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

McIlroy, who missed last week’s BMW Masters in Shanghai, leads England’s Danny Willett by 1,613 points. He needs to finish ahead of Willett, and inside the top-three in case any of the next five players win the tournament, to secure his third European number one crown.

“I didn’t quite think I’d be in this position, especially after taking the week off last week,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “But a few of the guys didn’t capitalize on that in China thankfully and I find myself in a position where it’s totally in my hands.

“If I go out and win the tournament, I win the overall thing no matter what anybody else does, and that’s a nice position to be in. I just want to win the tournament. I don’t care who finishes second, who finishes third.”

McIlroy’s bid for the European title has been hampered by an ankle injury this year ruled him out of three tournaments that would have counted toward the Race to Dubai – the Scottish Open, British Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

He has played only 11 events this season and needed special intervention from the European Tour to get into the $8 million DP World Tour Championship.

The event is open only to the top-60 players on the Race to Dubai who have met the minimum requirement of having played at least 12 events.

McIlroy will not be playing any tournaments after this one until the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship from Jan. 21-24 next year.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The European Tour is reducing the number of tournaments needed for players to maintain their membership from 13, a move designed to help those playing a full season on the U.S. PGA Tour.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said Tuesday the move follows “significant dialogue with all of our players” and that the five tournaments will exclude the four majors and the four World Golf Championships.

The mandatory 13 starts was becoming difficult to achieve for players who had fallen outside the top-50 of the world ranking, thus making them ineligible for some of the majors and WGC events.

Explaining the move, Pelley said: “One of the reasons was simple: it is to help some of the players that have been entrenched in the US… This, I believe, will allow our players to schedule more efficiently, schedule at the beginning of the year, so they know exactly how they are going to maintain their membership.

“We are in the midst of structuring our overall Tour in a more, what I call, players-first philosophy. That will be something that will be absolutely critical for us.”

The new membership regulations will apply for the 2016 Race to Dubai schedule.

Speaking ahead of the season-ending WGC event at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Pelley also said the European Tour needed to match the financial draw of the US PGA, particularly for younger players breaking through on the circuit.

“At this particular time, if you are a young player, and you have done very well in the European Tour, and you want to make the most money, you are going to go play in America,” he said.

“You will ask: ‘How are you actually going to have our people play more often here in Europe’? The answer is very simple. We need to provide a viable alternative to the PGA Tour for our elite, medium and low-ranked players. End of story.”

SHANGHAI – Kristoffer Broberg wasn’t happy with his putting last week when he was practicing at home in Sweden, so he made an abrupt change. He looked in his coach’s wife’s bag and decided to give her putter a try.

On Sunday, Broberg made the biggest putt of his career to beat Patrick Reed in a playoff to win the BMW Masters for his first European Tour title.

Broberg and Reed both finished regulation play at 17-under 271 after an afternoon of fine shot-making and dramatic momentum shifts that saw five players briefly share the lead on the back nine. In the playoff, the Swede hit his tee shot straight down the fairway for an easy approach to the pin and a 15-foot birdie putt for victory.

“Last week, in my coach’s studio in Sweden, I was putting indoors and was like I’m not putting good, so I just look in my coach’s wife’s bag,” he said. “So I just tried (her putter) and the stroke was much, much better and the technique, so I just keep it. And it was pretty good.”

Broberg certainly made the putts when it mattered on Sunday, while his rivals came up just short.

Reed surged into a share of the lead with the shot of the day – a stunning eagle from the bunker on the par-5 15th – and then birdied the 16th hole to move one stroke clear of Broberg. But he faltered on his next hole, missing a 4-foot par putt that caught the edge of the hole and curled away.

Two other title contenders, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and South Korea’s An Byeong-hun, also barely missed birdie putts on the 18th green in regulation to get into the playoff.

For Broberg, the victory comes at just the right moment. He’d had three runner-up finishes on the European Tour over the past three years and was starting to doubt whether he’d ever get a breakthrough win.

Now he not only has a maiden title, he’s captured one of the four big-money tournaments in the European Tour’s Final Series and beaten some of the biggest names on the tour to do it, including Reed, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson.

“I didn’t trust myself. A few weeks ago, I was just like, ‘I’ll never win here.’ I was just so down,” said the Swede, who shot a 68 on Sunday. “This field is really good, so I’m just happy to beat all of them.”

Reed, meanwhile, was searching for answers after yet another disappointment on the final day of a tournament. The 2014 Cadillac Championship winner has five top-10 finishes in his last seven tournaments, but hasn’t come up with a trophy.

“All you can ask for is to have a chance come down late on Sunday and I’ve put myself in that position quite a bit recently and unfortunately haven’t gotten in the winner’s circle,” said the American, who shot a final-round 67. “It hurts, but at the same time, I know what I’m working on right now is definitely the right thing because I’m moving in the right direction. Just have to close one out.”

Thongchai (71) and An (70) finished in a share of third place with Stenson (68), who had five birdies in six holes on the back nine to move into contention, and Lucas Bjerregaard (70), who let an early two-stroke lead slip away.

Rose (67) and Paul Casey (69) were another stroke back in joint-seventh, while Garcia, who briefly had a share of the lead after holing a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th hole, slumped to equal-11th after carding a bogey and double bogey on his final two holes.

Play was halted briefly during the final round to observe a moment of silence for the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

At noon, tournament officials blew the horns on the course, normally used to halt play due to inclement weather, and all the players took off their hats and bowed their heads for a minute of silence. Many also wore black ribbons on their caps.

“You realize there’s so much things more important than golf, for sure,” said France’s Benjamin Hebert, who wore a white hat with the words “Pray for Paris” written on it. “You wake up in the morning and you see that on Internet and TV and it’s just wow, it’s happened already this year, and you just don’t understand.

“But you can’t stop living, actually, and that’s the thing in France, we won’t stop living.”

SHANGHAI – Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the BMW Masters.

Thongchai had started the day three shots behind Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark, but made five birdies on the front nine to move into a share of the lead and then two more on the back nine to card a 15-under 201 through 54 holes.

“I think today I miss about three greens. That’s why the key, I think, is I play my irons really well,” the 46-year-old veteran said. “Tomorrow is a very big day. If I play well like this, keep performing like this, I’m going to have a good chance.”

The Thai golfer, seeking his second European Tour title of the season, is one stroke ahead of Bjerregaard (70), Sergio Garcia of Spain (67) and An Byeong-hun of South Korea (66).

Players wore black ribbons on their hats to remember the victims of the attacks in Paris on Friday night and took to Twitter to share their condolences.

France’s Benjamin Hebert, who shot a 71 on Saturday, posted a picture of himself wearing a white hat and glove with the words “Pray for Paris” written across them, as well as black pants and a green shirt. His tweet read, “Black for mourning, green for hope, white for peace.”

After breaking a BMW Masters record with a 29 on his back nine, Australia’s Marcus Fraser tweeted: “Days like today make you realize even more how insignificant golf really is.”

Fraser ended his round by holing a 231-yard shot for eagle on the par-4 18th hole to become the first player at the tournament to break 30 on either the front or back nine, according to the European Tour. He shot a 65 to move into a tie for 11th place, four strokes behind the leader.

Fraser said he thought his second shot on 18 was “perfect” when he hit it. “All of a sudden, there’s a lot of carrying on up here (at the pin) and I walk up there and I’d torn the front out of the hole and the ball was sitting in the bottom,” he said.

Garcia also finished strongly with three birdies on his last four holes to stay close to the lead. He’s aiming to win his first European Tour title in nearly two years.

“I played the last four holes really well, I think. It was nice to be able to finish like that and give myself a shot tomorrow because I was getting a little bit far behind,” he said.

An, the BMW PGA Championship winner earlier this year, carded six birdies in a blemish-free round, while Bjerregaard had three birdies to go with one bogey.

Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg was in fifth place at 13 under overall, two shots behind Thongchai, while Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Ross Fisher, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter were another shot back in a tie for sixth.

France’s Alexander Levy and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters had the low round of the day with a 63.

Levy said the Paris attacks were on his mind when he started his round on Saturday morning.

“I was very disappointed this morning when I wake up because I watch what happened in France,” he said. “And I say, ‘Come on, today just have fun and enjoy your day’ because a lot of trouble in France.”

SHANGHAI – Lucas Bjerregaard is learning how to deal with the pressure of playing from the front, and closing in on a maiden European Tour title, too.

The Dane heads into the weekend with a three-stroke lead at the BMW Masters after carding a 6-under 66 in Friday’s second round.

Bjerregaard trailed overnight leader Sergio Garcia for much of the day before surging into the lead with three birdies in his last four holes to match his opening-round score. He’s now shot below 70 in 12 of his last 13 rounds since mid-October, going a combined 47 under.

Garcia, meanwhile, ran into trouble on his back nine on a cold, blustery day at Lake Malaren Golf Club. He bogeyed No. 12 and hit into the water on No. 13 for a double-bogey, falling four strokes back.

The Spaniard recovered to shoot a 71 and tie for second place at 9 under with Thongchai Jaidee (68).

Bjerregaard has been in top form this autumn, posting four top-10 finishes on the European Tour and falling just short of capturing his first title at the Hong Kong Open three weeks ago. Playing in the final group, the 24-year-old Dane led Justin Rose by a stroke down the stretch before a double-bogey gave victory to the Englishman.

Still, it was a far better finish than the last time Bjerregaard played in the final group on a Sunday at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last December – he collapsed with a 17-over 89 in the final round.

“It was nice in Hong Kong to prove to myself and prove to everyone else that I can still compete up there, so hopefully I can do that again this week and just come up one place better than last time,” Bjerregaard said.

Ian Poulter (68), Paul Casey (69) and An Byeong-hun (71) were tied for fourth at 8 under on Friday, while Peter Uihlein (66) sank seven straight birdies to jump into a tie for seventh at 7 under with Ross Fisher (71).

Playing alongside Bjerregaard, Uihlein began his birdie spree on the par-5 15th hole and narrowly missed matching the European Tour record of eight consecutive birdies when his 20-foot putt on the par-3 fourth hole slid just to the right of the cup.

“I was cheering him on,” Bjerregaard said. “I was really hoping that would go in.”

Uihlein started the day in a tie for 48th place but is suddenly only five strokes off the pace going into the weekend.

“It was weird. I was level-par going into 15, 1 over for the day, and I felt like I played 24 holes really, really well,” the American said. “I felt like there was going to be a surge coming and I didn’t know it would be seven in a row, but I’m pleased it was.”

Garcia, who shot 64 on Thursday, made three birdies in a blemish-free front nine to get to 11 under before faltering on No. 12 and 13. His second shot on the par-5 15th found the bunker next to the green, but he made a nice recovery to birdie the hole and get a stroke back.

“If you didn’t hit the right shot at the right time you could pay. And I did a couple of times,” Garcia said. “It feels like it should have been a little bit better, but it is what it is.”

The BMW Masters is the third of four events in the European Tour’s Final Series, which ends next week at the DP World Tour Championships in Dubai. Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy is skipping this week’s tournament, giving Danny Willett a chance to pass him in the standings with a strong showing in Shanghai.

Willett shot a 69 to get to 3 under on Friday in a tie for 28th.

SHANGHAI – Sergio Garcia shot an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over the in-form Victor Dubuisson and An Byeong-hun after the first round of the rain-soaked BMW Masters on Thursday.

Garcia, who started his round on the back nine, made four birdies in his first five holes and added another five after the turn to offset one bogey.

Dubuisson, winner of the Turkish Airlines Open two weeks ago, and An each had seven birdies in blemish-free rounds and were tied for second.

Ross Fisher and Lucas Bjerregaard were another stroke back in fourth.

The BMW Masters at Lake Malaren Golf Club is the third of four events in the European Tour’s Final Series, ending in the DP World Tour Championship next week in Dubai.

Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy is skipping this week’s tournament, giving the players immediately behind him in the standings, including Danny Willett, Shane Lowry, and Louis Oosthuizen, a chance to make up ground.

Garcia, who is 30th in the standings but has decided not to play the World Tour Championship, equaled his best round on tour this year in a persistent drizzle that soaked the course and led to low scoring.

“I drove the ball very well and that gave me a lot of opportunities to hit some good iron shots,” Garcia said. “It was the kind of round that you’re looking for.”

Dubuisson picked up where he left off after his stirring win in Turkey.

“I feel so great, I feel so good on the greens,” the Frenchman said. “When I read the line good, the putt can only go in the hole, and you don’t have this feeling much of the time.”

Fisher, who had six birdies and no bogeys in his round of 66, almost didn’t play this week after receiving only a 10-day visa from the Chinese government before last week’s HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

He said he was turned away when he tried to extend the visa at the Shanghai Entry-Exit Bureau on Monday, but was finally successful after receiving an 11th-hour letter from local sports officials supporting the extension.

“There were a lot of papers flying around, there were a lot of phone calls, emails being sent,” Fisher said. “To say it was a stressful buildup to today would be an understatement. There were times when I was thinking I might be booking a flight home.”

Paul Casey, who eagled the par-4 14th hole, Thongchai Jaidee, and Justin Rose were three strokes behind Garcia at 5 under, and a group of nine players was another shot back at 4 under, including Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, and 18-year-old Dou Zecheng of China.

Willett, who is just behind McIlory in the Race to Dubai standings and can overtake him this week by finishing in 28th place or better, was well off the pace after shooting even-par. He was in a tie for 48th.

“It’s a long four-week stretch, (and I’m) trying to stay fresh,” Willett said. “Regardless of what happens this week … if we win next week, we’re going to win the Race to Dubai.”

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth completed his early-season Asia swing with Wednesday’s announcement that he will play the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January.

Abu Dhabi again will have a top-heavy field at the start of the year with Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson among the top-ranked players Jan. 21-24 to kick off the European Tour’s swing through the Middle East.

Spieth previously announced he would play the Singapore Open the week after Abu Dhabi.

Fowler played Abu Dhabi for the first time last year and tied for 66th after opening with a 67.

“I am looking forward to coming to Abu Dhabi, especially after Rickie told me about what a fantastic event it is,” Spieth said. “I love to travel and see the world, and I am excited to not only play in the event but also checking out Abu Dhabi for the first time.”

Spieth, Fowler and Jason Day are expected to play the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on Jan. 7-10. Spieth and Fowler then will cross 14 time zones to compete in Abu Dhabi.

McIlroy has been runner-up at Abu Dhabi four of the last five years.

“Abu Dhabi always brings an outstanding player field, and with Jordan and Rickie competing in January, this will be a superb test for me to start off the 2016 season,” McIlroy said. “I’ve come close in Abu Dhabi several times now, so I’ll be 100 percent ready for January’s challenge.”

SHANGHAI – Russell Knox raised both arms in the air, closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the heavens as if he couldn’t believe what he had just done.

Dating to when the World Golf Championship began in 1999, no one had ever won in his debut. Knox wasn’t even eligible for the HSBC Champions until he got in 10 days ago as an alternate, and then it was a mad scramble in Malaysia to get a Chinese visa in time to play.

Walking out of the Sheshan International clubhouse on Sunday with a share of the 54-hole lead, Knox noticed a billboard with names and images of past winners at the HSBC Champions – Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.

“Everyone who wins this tournament is a superstar,” Knox said. “I knew this would be the hardest day in my life.”

For a 30-year-old from Scotland who had never won in 92 previous tries on the PGA Tour, Knox made it look like a breeze. He broke out of a five-way tie for the lead with two quick birdies to start the back nine and was flawless the rest of the way for a 4-under 68 and a two-shot victory over Kevin Kisner.

“I always thought I was going to win a big one for my first one,” he said. “But this is going to take a long time to sink in.”

He played alongside Johnson, whose power can be so intimidating that Knox didn’t watch him hit a shot for 12 holes. In the group ahead was Jordan Spieth, on his way back to No. 1 in the world. The cheers were for Li Haotong, the 20-year-old from Shanghai who received rock-star treatment during a wild final round that ended with the best finish ever by a Chinese player on the PGA Tour.

“Incredible for me this week,” Li said. “This for me is very, very big.”

Imagine how it felt for Knox, whose unexpected trip to China ended with a most surprising victory.

Knox finished at 20-under 268 and earned $1.4 million, along with perks that include his first trip to the Masters in April.

“I got married on Saturday of the Masters,” he said. “What a great wedding anniversary we’re going to have.”

It was the fourth runner-up this year for Kisner – the other three were in playoffs. He closed with a 70, though his birdie putt on the 18th hole was worth an additional $285,000, a small consolation.

“That’s all right,” Kisner said. “I’ll keep finishing second and I’ll keep giving myself a shot, and I know I’ll win one of them.”

His birdie was expensive for Danny Willett, who closed with a 62 and tied for third with Ross Fisher (68). If Kisner had not made birdie on the final hole, Willett would have overtaken Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai on the European Tour. Willett is playing next week in the BMW Masters in Shanghai – McIlroy is not – and even if he doesn’t pass him, the Race to Dubai will come down to the final event.

McIlroy closed with a 50-foot birdie putt for a 66, ending a week in which his energy was low while recovering from food poisoning, and his putter was cold, as it has been since he returned in August from his ankle injury.

Spieth, who started the final round three shots behind, didn’t feel comfortable with his swing and didn’t make enough putts in his round of 70. Two birdies on the back nine at least allowed him to tie for seventh, and that was enough to move back to No. 1 in the world.

“Everyone is pushing each other a little bit, and when that No. 1 ranking slips away, it leaves some unrest in you and you really want to get back at it,” Spieth said.

Johnson wound up four shots behind, and with more reason than anyone to feel as though a third WGC title got away. He was one shot behind Knox on the par-5 eighth hole when his wedge covered the flag and appeared that it would land a few feet behind the hole or a tap-in birdie. Instead, it struck the pin and caromed harshly off the green and into the creek. A birdie turned into a double bogey, and Johnson never recovered. He closed with a 71.

The hopes were with Li, and the crowd stood four-deep behind the range with cameras on him at all times. The attendance this week (34,790) set a record, topping 2009 when Mickelson and Tiger Woods played in the final round.

But those hopes ended quickly. Li hooked his opening tee shot and had to scramble to make bogey. He hooked his second tee shot into the hazard and made double bogey. He didn’t make a par until the seventh hole, and only because he missed a 4-foot birdie putt.

But he kept fighting until the end, making two late birdies and saving par after a second shot into the water on the 18th, finishing tied for seventh.

“He was really off with his game, but man, did he have heart,” Spieth said. “He didn’t have his best stuff. If he did, he really could have done some damage today.”

Canada’s Richard T. Lee finished T46 at 4 under.