Rory McIlroy made the dream begin to his bid for Race to Dubai victory by grabbing a share of the lead after the opening spherical of the DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy, who solely wants to complete eleventh or higher to ensure high spot within the DP World Tour’s season-long standings for the third successive 12 months and match Seve Ballesteros’ tally of six Order of Advantage titles, carded a five-under 67 at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The Northern Irishman – a two-time winner of the occasion – combined six birdies with a lone bogey to share the early benefit with Tyrrell Hatton, with final week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring a shot again in third.
Billy Horschel, Matt Wallace, and former world No 1 Adam Scott are each inside two of the lead alongside Alex Fitzpatrick, whereas Thriston Lawrence – the one participant who can catch McIlroy within the Race to Dubai – is six again after struggling to a one-over 73.
Hatton and McIlroy make early strikes in Dubai
McIlroy received up and down from off the inexperienced to avoid wasting par on the first and rolled in from 10 ft to make the most of the par-five subsequent, regardless of discovering the sand along with his method, then fired a wedge to tap-in vary to birdie the third.
The world No 3 responded to bogeying fifth after a scaling down of the bunker by laying up from the tough and establishing a close-range birdie on the par-five seventh, earlier than beginning his again 9 with a 15-foot birdie to get inside one of many lead.
McIlroy picked up one other shot on the par-five 14th and pulled degree with Hatton by holing a long-range birdie on the par-five seventeenth, earlier than having to accept a closing par after a wayward method into the final.
Hatton – who has completed first and second in his final two DP World Tour begins – combined seven birdies with two bogeys to share high spot with McIlroy, whereas enjoying companion Waring briefly held the outright lead with 4 birdies within the first eight holes of his opening-round 68.
“I feel like the score was better than it felt,” Hatton mentioned. “I felt I was tinkering over most tee shots and at times, I felt like my misses were bigger than perhaps they have been over the last month or so, month and a half. But at the end of the day, to shoot five under, you have to play fairly solid golf.”
The highest 10 gamers within the Race to Dubai this week – not already exempt – will earn twin membership subsequent season on the PGA Tour, with Niklas Norgaard, Rikuya Hoshino and Alex Fitzpatrick all carding opening-round 69s as they chase these playing cards on provide.
4 birdies in seven-hole stretch leaves Horschel three again and Keita Nakajima can also be tied-fourth after a shocking eagle on the par-five final, whereas Antoine Rozner birdied every of his final 4 holes to submit a two-under 70.
Romain Langasque was briefly three forward after 5 birdies in his first seven holes however carded 4 bogeys on the again 9 of his one-under 71, with Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood additionally 4 off the tempo.
Lawrence began 1,785 factors behind McIlroy within the season-long standings and wishes a win to have any probability of overtaking him, though a disappointing day noticed him submit 4 birdies and 5 bogeys to sit down tied-Thirty seventh of the 50-man discipline.
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