Rory McIlroy is in contention at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship

Rory McIlroy's golf glove has "blown the mind" of Sky Sports commentator Wayne 'Radar' Riley. The Holywood man is competing in the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.

He finds himself two shots behind leader Jon Rahm going into the final round of the event.

During his third round, a casual exchange amongst the Sky Sports commentary team shifted towards discussion of his glove size. While commentating, Riley revealed: "I just went in on the scrounge for the glove off Harry Diamond, so he comes over and gives me a glove. What size glove do you think Rory McIlroy uses?"

Suggestions included "XL" and "medium". Another voice offered: "Small?".

Riley confirmed: "Yes [small]. That blew my mind. I thought all day he would be a medium/large. Small hands! You know what they say about small hands, don't you?" A fellow commentator quickly interjected with: "Thank you, Radar!", reports the Mirror.

McIlroy slipped down the leaderboard on Thursday after receiving a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie at the 12th hole. Nevertheless, he's fought back strongly to put himself firmly back in the mix.

Reflecting on his second round, he commented: "I did everything well again. I drove the ball well. I hit my irons well. I putted a little bit better. I saw a few more putts go in, which is something that I haven't been seeing for the last couple of months.

"I did some work with Brad Faxon last week and feel like I'm in a better spot with it. I definitely saw some encouraging signs on the greens today."

McIlroy added: "I would say I'll be at least two or three behind going into tomorrow, but I'm still in a much better position than I thought I would be. I give myself a great chance, and that's all I can ask for."

Speaking about his two-shot penalty, he said on Thursday: "There's obviously no intent – I play by the rules, and I try and do everything I can to never end up in these positions. But, just by looking at the video, it doesn't look very good.

"I'm just trying to get a feel of the lie. The ball is in the bottom of a sandy divot, and I'm just trying to feel if I can get a 54-degree [wedge] onto the back of the ball. In the process, this piece of the grass is laid down.

"I don't feel like I pressed down but, at the same time, I don't want the perception of people thinking that I got away with something either. I'm happy to take the two-shot penalty, move on and move into tomorrow."