Matt Fitzpatrick turned a muff into an unlikely par, closed with two straight birdies for a 5-under 67 and took a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy going into the weekend of the HSBC Champions.
Fitzpatrick had a nasty lie in the rough just behind the 16th green and tried to stab it with the putter, only for the ball to pop straight up and roll some 35 feet away. He holed that for a par to keep a clean card Friday.
He was at 11-under 133.
McIlroy had his own problems on the 16th, having to hit three shots when the first one sailed into the trees. He scraped out a bogey and finished with a 5-iron to 3 feet at the 18th for eagle and a 67.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele, still struggling with remnants of the flu, rallied for a 69 and was two shots behind along with Adam Scott (69) and Sungjae Im (69).
Li Haotong of China lost ground with a 72, but remained in the mix at three shots behind.
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