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Marc Warren rediscovered his form in spectacular fashion at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation on Friday and will head into the weekend battling it out with Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett.
With Willett making his first European Tour appearance since his victory at the Masters Tournament and McIlroy playing host for the week, all eyes were on the two highest ranked players in the field in the build up to play at the K Club.
That continued on day one as the pair moved to the top of the leaderboard, with Willett and McIlroy continuing to engage in a nip-and-tuck battle throughout the second morning before Warren made a brilliant move.
The Scotsman had made just three cuts in his nine starts so far this season but birdied three of his last four holes - with a brilliant chip-in coming on the eighth - to register a 66 and move to eight under.
That was good enough to give him a share of the lead alongside Willett who signed for a 71, with McIlroy just a shot further back after his round of 70.
Willett's triumph at Augusta was his second of the season while McIlroy has yet to finish outside the top ten, but Warren is a three-time winner himself and felt he was due a low score.
"I felt, especially the last three events, I felt as if I was close to some decent form," he said.
"The first few months of the season were a little bit of stop-start scheduling-wise.
I feel as if I'm starting to get into a little bit more of a run now, so hopefully that's the reason for the good form and hopefully it continues - Marc Warren
The 35 year old carded seven birdies to a single bogey in the calmer morning conditions - with the wind and rain arriving for the afternoon starters - and was delighted with his performance.
"I think everything was pretty solid overall," he added. "I kept the ball in play off the tee, which is obviously important in these conditions, and the short game is good."
Willett came into the day with a two-shot lead over McIlroy and while he was caught twice by the Northern Irishman, five birdies and four bogeys just kept him at the top of the leaderboard with Warren.
"A little bit scrappy but grinding out quite nicely," he said. "Marc's score today is a fantastic round of golf.
England's Matthew Southgate coped wonderfully with the more difficult later conditions to record a 69 and sit at five under, a shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton, who went one better in the afternoon.
South African duo Richard Sterne and Jaco Van Zyl were also at four under after rounds of 68 and 72 respectively.
Jorge Campillo, Jamie Donaldson, Bradley Dredge, Sébastien Gros, Russell Knox, Eddie Pepperell, Richie Ramsay, Brett Rumford, Callum Shinkwin and Chris Wood were then a further shot back.
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