Golf – Hong Kong Open:World number one Rory McIlroy crashed out of the after four-putting his final green at Fanling today. While New Zealander Michael Campbell continued his recovery from the depths of despair with a 64 to set the halfway pace, the tournament's defending champion suffered his first early exit since the US Open in June.

McIlroy had four birdies in his first 11 holes to climb to one under par in the tricky wind. But then came four bogeys in the next five and, with his survival in the balance, a closing double bogey six at the 367-yard 10th for a 72 and five over total.

“I just got on a slide and couldn’t stop it,” said McIlroy, who was on such a high last Sunday after clinching a European and US Tour money list double.

“Obviously not the week that I wanted. I was only four off the lead and thinking I could make a couple more and be right back in contention. Unfortunately it just went the other way.

“I still love this course. It’s just a pity that this year had to end like that. I didn’t putt well in Singapore last week and sort of got away with it (he came third). This week was the same, so I think a bit of putting practice is required in Dubai.”

He plays the European Tour’s season’s ending DP World Tour Championship there starting next Thursday.

“I think if I was completely fresh I wouldn’t have been making the mistakes. Just one of those things - hit it in the wrong spot and misjudged the speed on a couple of putts. That’s just the way it goes.

“On the last I saw the projected cut was plus two, so I wanted to try to hole it (for birdie). I hit it a few feet by, then really knew the second putt was to make the cut.”

After missing that one he admitted he lacked concentration on the next and failed again.

“I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty good still and I think these couple of days off might actually do me good,” he said. “It’ll give me a chance to rest.”

Pádraig Harrington was another to miss the cut, but he drew applause on the last by skipping his second shot from the trees across the lake and back onto grass, from where he saved par.

The Dubliner still had to sign for a 75 and six over aggregate, however. Asian Tour player Niall Turner also missed the cut after a 71 left him on five under.

That left just one Irishman in the weekend field, with Peter Lawrie moving up to a tie for eighth place on four under after a second straight 68.

Campbell, who has climbed from 910th in the world four months ago to 339th, shot his lowest Tour round for six years to move one clear of the field.

The former US Open champion went to the turn in 30, made it four birdies in a row on the 10th and added another from 10 feet at the last to reach nine under.

That put him one ahead of twice winner Miguel Angel Jimenez and China’s Zhang Lian-wei and also Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed.

Welshman Rhys Davies, 119th on the money list and needing to stay there this week to keep his card, made the cut right on the number of two over after a 71. It meant compatriot Bradley Dredge missed out by one and at 121st on the money list the dreaded qualifying school beckoned for the 39-year-old for the first time since 1996.

South Africa Open:Gareth Maybin made two birdies over his final five holes to card a two-under-par 70 and move to one under at Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate.

The Ulster golfer, who is presently 110th in the Race to Dubai standings, is presently in a tie for 54th position and faces an anxious wait to see if the later starters push him down the leaderboard.

At the top of the leaderboard, Henrik Stenson gave himself a great chance to end more than three and a half years without a win by racing four shots clear of the field.

The 36-year-old Swede, two off the pace following an opening 66, had five birdies in seven holes around the turn and added an eagle on the par-five eighth to card a seven-under 65 and move to 13 under.

Stenson, who reached fourth in the world when he captured the prestigious Player Championship in Florida in 2009, is ranked only 113th now.

That gave Stenson a four-stroke advantage over another Swede, Magnus Carlsson, who birdies three of his last four holes in a 67. Scotland’s Lloyd Saltman is in third place on eight under after a 66

Australia Masters:Queenslander Matthew Guyatt maintained his lead at the midway point of the, but Adam Scott and Ian Poulter remained close enough to make a charge over the weekend.

Guyatt added a solid three-under 69 today to his superb 65 on the opening day at Kingston Heath in Melbourne and now finds himself at 10 under overall for the tournament, two shots clear of New Zealand’s Michael Hendry, with Scott a further stroke adrift in third.

Poulter is another two shots back at minus five and shares fourth place with Tasmanian Craig Hancock, but the news was not so good for Northern Ireland’s European Graeme McDowell.

The Northern Ireland golfer couldn’t take advantage of a superb eagle-birdie start to the day and eventually signed for a 77, to be four-over for the tournament. That two-round score of 148 was one shot better than the mark for the halfway cut.