Rory McIlroy made a strong start to his title defence and boosted his hopes of another Race to Dubai success with an impressive first round at the DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy arrived at Jumeirah Golf Estates with a commanding 767-point lead atop the DP World Tour’s season-long standings, with Marco Penge and Tyrrell Hatton the only players who can still prevent him from a fourth consecutive Race to Dubai title.
The world No 2 opened with three consecutive birdies and kept pushing during a low-scoring opening day. His six-under 66 left him two strokes behind early leader Michael Kim, who set the clubhouse target with a bogey-free 64, and one stroke behind solo second-placed Tommy Fleetwood, who birdied five times in a six-hole stretch on his back nine to shoot 65. McIlroy sits tied-third on six under alongside Thriston Lawrence and Andy Sullivan.
A solo second place would guarantee McIlroy a seventh Race to Dubai crown and move him within one of Colin Montgomerie’s record, regardless of other results. Penge’s disappointing start — tied-46th after a 74 — increased McIlroy’s chances; Penge needed a three-way share of second to have any realistic chance of overtaking him. Hatton, requiring a victory and favourable outcomes elsewhere, carded a bogey-free 70 to sit six strokes back.
Kim impressed with his approach play, giving himself 11 chances from inside 10 feet and making five birdies in a six-hole burst on the back nine to post 64. Fleetwood, who lost in a play-off at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, matched Kim’s birdie run from the 10th to reach seven under, praising his driving and key par saves.
McIlroy’s round featured sharp wedge play and strong iron shots. He followed back-to-back birdies by holing from nearly 20 feet at the par-four third, recovered from a lone bogey at the par-three fourth by tapping in for birdie at the par-five seventh, started his back nine with successive birdies, nearly holed out at the par-three 13th, birdied the par-five 14th and closed with four straight pars. He said: “I got off to the perfect start, making three birdies in a row. I felt like that was probably one of the best approach-play rounds I’ve had in a long time. My wedge play felt really sharp… Overall, it was a really solid start on a golf course that I’m very comfortable on and historically I’ve played very well on.”
Lawrence was seven under after 15 holes but dropped back with a bogey at 17 and failed to birdie the last. 2023 champion Nicolai Hojgaard shares sixth on five under with Daniel Hillier and Brandon Robinson Thompson. Shane Lowry and Justin Rose, among nine members of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team in the field, are part of a group at four under.
Penge struggled with his approach play after being under par through eight holes, then carded four bogeys in a six-hole stretch. Only two players are currently below him on the 52-man leaderboard.
Tommy Fleetwood (seven under, second): “I feel like it was a really good day. I didn’t think it was that easy. There are some really good scores out there. There were some really demanding shots on that back nine and I felt like I got into a really good rhythm. Drove it as good as I’ve drove it all year. It was a really good driving day… I made two or three good par saves, which is key.”
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