Rory McIlroy ready to knuckle down in pursuit of Danny Willett

There weren't too many belly laughs around the course as the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open worked its way through a summer's day borrowed from the depths of winter; and certainly not from those players who, by a quirk of fate, were given the lousy side of the draw.

For the likes of Danny Willett, the Masters champion, and Marc Warren, and tournament host Rory McIlroy, one shot adrift of the joint-leaders, their work – and manoeuvrings into contention – had been completed before a cool, wet weather front wrapped The K Club in its grey clutches.

For those players exposed to the stiff wind and persistent rain – clad in wet gear and some with scarves wrapped around faces –it was a miserable grind.

An umbrella advertising a certain bookmaker's sense of mischief was held in place by the 11th fairway as Shane Lowry walked by: "Scorcher 150/1, Showers 2/1, Cats and Dogs 5/4," it proclaimed.

The short odds on bad weather weren’t short enough. It bucketed down for the entire afternoon.

“It was a slog,” admitted Lowry, who fought gallantly to make the cut.

Way to conquer

As ever there were exceptions, those who found a way to conquer:

Russell Knox

, for one, contrived to defy the laws of nature.

"Pure fluke," was Knox's succinct analysis of the 66 he contrived to produce in the weather conditions, using a borrowed driver – from fellow PGA Tour player David Lingmerth – for good measure in his act of defiance.

His endeavours enabled him to move into a share of eighth, up 85 places.

Willett – swinging smoothly and with a look of intent that mirrored his disposition in Augusta – was an expected presence atop the leaderboard; Warren, though, wasn’t.

The Scot had missed the cut in six of his last nine tournaments and “quite low” is how he’d assessed his pre-tournament expectations.

Still, the day finished with the two – Willett and Warren – looking down on everyone else- from their perch on eight-under-par 136 – albeit with McIlroy just a shot further back.

In all, nine Irish players – McIlroy, Gavin Moynihan, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Gary Hurley, Paul Dunne, Kevin Phelan and Lowry – from an initial starting group of 22 made the cut ,which fell on two-over-par 146.

Pádraig Harrington, who lamented his poor driving, was among those to miss out.

Tellingly, seven of those Irish survivors were part of the more favourable late-Thursday early-Friday tee-times, with only Lowry, who survived two water balls on his homeward run, including his approach to the 18th, and McGinley, who produced a run of four successive birdies at one point, emerging from the so-called wrong side of the draw.

For McIlroy, it was, for the most part, rather plain-sailing.

“I got lucky with the draw, so I took advantage of that,” he conceded, adding that he’d only packed his waterproofs at the last minute when packing in Florida.

Spoil sport

Not that he would be adverse to knuckling down over the weekend with the weather again threatening to play spoil sport.

“I feel I’m prepared to play in whatever comes our way,” he added.

If there was one area of McIlroy’s game that let him down, it was his short game: he managed only two from five scrambles after missing the green. Still, there was much to admire in the way he went about his business.

Magnet

He was like a magnet to many of the 17,628 patrons who passed through the gates and his endeavours were warmly received, in a round of five birdies and three bogeys for a 70 and a 137 total.

“I played well. I drove the ball well again. I hit a lot of good iron shots, good wedge shots . . . I know I’m making enough birdies to win this tournament,” said McIlroy, anxious to eliminate what he termed “soft bogeys” in the business part of the weekend.

“I just need to limit the mistakes,” he said.

The key so far for McIlroy has been an ability to stay patient. And the trick is to bring that same approach to his pursuit of Willett and Warren.

“It might be a bit of a grind over the weekend, but I feel like my game’s in good shape.

“As I said at the start of the week, there’s something waiting there to click; and when it does, I could be off and running and it could be the catapult and momentum I need to have another great summer.

“Hopefully that is the case, but my game is in good shape.”

McIlroy hasn’t yet won this season but he has contended numerous times, with six top-10 finishes in nine strokeplay tournaments.

Now, he is aiming to convert contending into winning.

“It’s’s been quite solid, the last couple of days,” he said of his game, adding: “But there’s definitely more in there.”

For Willett, who is seeking to add the Irish Open to the Masters title, there was the additional bonus that his wife and new-born baby arrived on site.

Prospect

And the prospect of a showdown with McIlroy, the world number three, was one that was part of the English man’s game plan.

However, he also has an eye on Warren, who is a two-time career winner on tour.

“Warren is a fantastic player, and Rory is there as well . . . If I can be somewhere there or thereabouts come Sunday, that would be great .

“People think you come out and win every week because you have won a Major, but we know that doesn’t happen,” said Willett, aware more than anyone that whoever hits the shots down the stretch is the one who walks away with the trophy.

Very much game on, it would seem.