Rory McIlroy has recovered brilliantly from a frustrating opening round at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship

Rory McIlroy surged up the leaderboard with a commanding second round performance at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship on Friday.

The Holywood star bounced back superbly from a disappointing opening day at the Yas Links course in the United Arab Emirates, briefly claiming top spot on the leaderboard.

McIlroy registered 11 birdies for the first time in a DP World Tour tournament and just two bogeys, at the first and 14th holes, to storm into contention in emphatic fashion, finishing on -11 heading into the weekend.

Friday's stellar performance followed McIlroy's acceptance of a two-shot penalty for improving his lie during Thursday's opening round.

The sanction was applied to McIlroy for his actions immediately before playing his fourth shot, a second chip from the rough, at the 12th hole, reports the Irish Mirror.

A DP World Tour statement confirmed that McIlroy was penalised under Rule 8.1b(4), which allows players to "ground their club lightly right in front of or behind the ball" but forbids them from "press the club on the ground".

The statement disclosed that after reviewing the video footage, the world number two was unable to confirm whether he had pressed his club into the ground and, "given his concern over perception of the footage", chose to accept the two-shot penalty.

This violation led to a quadruple-bogey eight at the 12th, meaning McIlroy finished the opening day with a two-under-par 70, sitting eight shots behind the leader. In a video posted on the DP World Tour website, McIlroy addressed the incident directly, saying: "I play by the rules," and adding: "I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions."

The Northern Irish golfer went on to explain his actions: "But just by looking at the video, it doesn't look very good. Obviously that wasn't my intent. I am just trying to get a feel for the lie. The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot."

He continued: "I am trying to feel like if I can get a 54-degree (wedge) on to the back of the ball, but in the process, this piece of grass has sort of laid down and I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece (of grass)."

McIlroy concluded by accepting responsibility for the incident, stating: "I don't feel like I pressed down, but at the same time, I don't want the perception of people thinking like I got away with something either, so I am happy to take a two-shot penalty and move on."