Rory McIlroy saw his early spark snuffed out in soggy conditions as he lost faith in his putter and failed to take advantage of the easier North Course in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

The four-time major winner three-putted twice and missed a string of birdie chances en route to a one-under 71 that left him four shots behind Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who made eight birdies in a 65 on the South Course to lead by a shot from Jon Rahm, Adam Scott, Tony Finau, Lanton Griffin, Ryan Palmer and Patrick Reed on nine-under-par.

The Co Down man started brightly, opening his day by knocking in a 10 footer at the 10th and an outrageous 50 footer over a tier at the 203-yard 12th to get to six-under. Scores

But after taking 32 putts in an impressive 68 on the South Course on day one, he had 33 putts last night compared to 27 for Rahm, who birdied three of his last four holes to shoot 67 in the group ahead.

After missing a four-footer for birdie at the 13th, McIlroy lost confidence in his touch on the greens as wind and rain rolled into La Jolla, three-putting the 14th from long range, then following a two-putt birdie at the par-five 17th with another three-putt bogey from long range at the 18th.

Back where he started, the Holywood star was again off with his pace as he missed further birdie chances at the first, fifth, sixth and seventh.

He then saw a 40 footer lip out at the eighth before a 20-foot eagle chance shaved the edge at the last, leaving a tap-in birdie.

Hovland had just 26 putts in his 65 on the South Course where Scott also putted brilliantly, using his broom-handle putter just 23 times in a three-under 69 as West Waterford’s Seamus Power shot a three-over 75 on the North Course to miss the one-under-par cut on nine-over.

The Norwegian was one of the players caught in hail and sleet showers near the end of the day but after a short suspension of play, he was pleased to come back out and lead the tournament.

“Yeah, felt really solid,” said the world No 14, who is expected to be one of Pádraig Harrington’s stars in September’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. “Last couple weeks I've been in Oklahoma and it's been really cold, so I've had probably three, four layers on practising and I think that's helped me for this week. It got really cold and obviously raining and hail, so being Norwegian, I think that also helps. Yeah, just played really solid and made some putts.”

Harrington knows some Ryder Cup stalwarts will fail to make his team for Whistling Straits and the fierce battle for qualifying points was evident as he led the Irish challenge at halfway in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain (49) fired a remarkable three-under-par 69 that saw him begin with a double-bogey six before making five of his seven-birdie tally in his next six holes.

Harrington would eventually cover the back nine in one-under to finish the day tied for 23rd on four-under-par, six strokes behind Belgium’s Thomas Detry (28) who carded a second successive bogey-free 67 to lead by a shot from Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (24) on 10-under.

The man from Oban is clearly a player on Harrington’s radar, as he remarked in the build-up, describing him as “a hearty fella, which you want . . . a tough customer . . . a fighter.”

The Scot is aware he’s unlikely to get a wild card as a rookie and as he’s ranked 52nd in the world, his short-term goal is to make the top 50 who will qualify for next month’s World Golf Championships at The Concession in Florida and the Masters.

His problem is the race for nine automatic spots looks like being a fierce battle over the next seven-and-a-half months given the number of big names currently out in the cold.

They include Shane Lowry, who made two birdies and two bogeys in a level-par 72, falling to joint 33rd on two-under, and 2010 hero Graeme McDowell, who missed the level-par cut by five strokes after a 73.

Harrington knows the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm or Tommy Fleetwood, whose 68 left him tied for third in Dubai alongside South Africa’s Justin Harding and the Finn Kalle Samooja, are certainties for Wisconsin.

So too is Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Tyrrell Hatton, who will partner him in today’s third round after rebounding from Thursday’s 76 with an eight-under 64.

One man who is determined to make a fifth appearance at Whistling Straits is veteran Paul Casey (43), who chiselled out a two-under 70 to share sixth place on seven-under as he watched ‘Postman’ Ian Poulter miss a three-footer at the 18th and miss the cut.

“I’m gutted for Poulter on the last there,’’ Casey said after a day when crusty greens took their toll. “He’s one of the best putters in the game. It highlights they’re not easy.”

Like Poulter, Casey is on the outside looking in when it comes to the Ryder Cup team but he insists he’s determined to make what he believes will be a winning side.

“You can’t think about it, but you do,” said Casey, who only discovered on reading the Ryder Cup qualifying rules that the world ranking points he made for finishing eighth in last week’s American Express did not count towards his Ryder Cup account as the event clashed with a Rolex Series event.

“My experience in Paris might be the greatest experience I have ever had on a golf course and I hope it can be bettered by being at Whistling Straits or somewhere else. It is one of those things that fuels everything I do on a daily basis.

“Every putt I face this week, hopefully it’s one step closer to making that team. I’d love to be on Pádraig’s team and I’d love to retain the Ryder Cup because I think that’s what the guys are going to do.”

Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Emirates Golf Club (par 72)

Detailed scores

134 T Detry (Bel) 67 67,

135 R MacIntyre (Sco) 67 68,

136 J Harding (RSA) 66 70, T Fleetwood (Eng) 68 68, K Samooja (Fin) 68 68,

137 P Casey (Eng) 67 70, A Arnaus (Esp) 68 69, L Westwood (Eng) 69 68, B Stone (RSA) 70 67, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 67, K Kitayama (USA) 65 72,

138 F Zanotti (Par) 71 67, G Migliozzi (Ita) 71 67, S Sharma (Ind) 70 68, L Canter (Eng) 70 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 70, R Sterne (RSA) 64 74, A Levy (Fra) 70 68,

139 T Kanaya (Jpn) 70 69, S Garcia (Esp) 66 73, M Schwab (Aut) 70 69, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 71,

140 J Rose (Eng) 71 69, L Herbert (Aus) 74 66, T Hatton (Eng) 76 64, Pádraig Harrington (Irl) 71 69,

141 B Wiesberger (Aut) 73 68, A Rozner (Fra) 70 71, S Jamieson (Sco) 70 71, A Otaegui (Esp) 67 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 68 73, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 70 71,

142 A Sullivan (Eng) 70 72, A Bjork (Swe) 71 71, S Brown (Eng) 72 70, R Fox (Nzl) 73 69, A Wu (Chn) 71 71, R Fisher (Eng) 68 74, M Kinhult (Swe) 70 72, Shane Lowry (Irl) 70 72, M Wallace (Eng) 71 71, J Walters (RSA) 72 70,

143 N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 73, N Bertasio (Ita) 75 68, J Luiten (Ned) 74 69, G Forrest (Sco) 74 69, N Elvira (Esp) 71 72, P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 73, R Ramsay (Sco) 71 72, D Willett (Eng) 74 69, E Molinari (Ita) 76 67, J Schaper (RSA) 70 73, D Lipsky (Usa) 72 71,

144 A Chesters (Eng) 72 72, R Paratore (Ita) 74 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 75 69, R Hojgaard (Den) 72 72, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 73 71, G Coetzee (RSA) 72 72, C Morikawa (USA) 71 73, B Hebert (Fra) 72 72, S Valimaki (Fin) 71 73, C Wood (Eng) 71 73, T Pieters (Bel) 71 73, D Burmester (RSA) 72 72, S Crocker (Usa) 71 73, C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 74 70, M Jim?nez (Esp) 74 70, J Smith (Eng) 71 73, J Winther (Den) 69 75, G Green (Mas) 73 71,

Missed cut

145 S Heisele (Ger) 71 74, D Law (Sco) 72 73, I Poulter (Eng) 76 69, D Langley (Eng) 72 73, S Hend (Aus) 69 76, O Fisher (Eng) 71 74, J Catlin (Usa) 74 71, V Dubuisson (Fra) 72 73, V Perez (Fra) 72 73, A Johnston (Eng) 73 72,

146 K Broberg (Swe) 72 74, E Rousaud (Am) (Esp) 73 73, C Paisley (Eng) 73 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 74, R Karlsson (Swe) 72 74, M Kawamura (Jpn) 71 75, L Gagli (Ita) 74 72,

147 R Langasque (Fra) 68 79, H Porteous (RSA) 76 71, D Drysdale (Sco) 73 74, J Morrison (Eng) 75 72, J Hansen (Den) 72 75, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 72 75, S Gallacher (Sco) 74 73, D Horsey (Eng) 72 75, Z Lombard (RSA) 73 74, P Waring (Eng) 75 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 72 75, E Pepperell (Eng) 74 73,

148 S Soderberg (Swe) 74 74, M Pavon (Fra) 75 73, A Rai (Eng) 72 76, G Bhullar (Ind) 77 71,

149 C Shinkwin (Eng) 75 74, D Hague (Eng) 75 74, R McEvoy (Eng) 78 71, Graeme McDowell (Nir) 76 73, M Southgate (Eng) 74 75, W Nienaber (RSA) 74 75,

150 H Li (Chn) 72 78, M Lee (Aus) 75 75, T Bj?rn (Den) 74 76, J Suri (Usa) 72 78, M Kieffer (Ger) 76 74, E Els (RSA) 73 77, J Lagergren (Swe) 70 80, C Syme (Sco) 72 78,

151 H Stenson (Swe) 74 77, A Quiros (Esp) 75 76, J Campillo (Esp) 77 74,

152 M Lorenzo-vera (Fra) 78 74, R Jacquelin (Fra) 79 73, D Howell (Eng) 73 79, R Mcgowan (Eng) 76 76, G Higgo (RSA) 76 76, C Knipes (Eng) 79 73,

153 O Wilson (Eng) 76 77,

155 S Al Kurdi (Am) (Jor) 76 79,

160 K El Hali (Mar) 82 78,

**

Out R Rock (Eng) 75 Wd, A Pavan (Ita) Rt