This event is set up in the mountains above Hong Kong, and watching it earlier this morning you can see it is a pretty tight, tree lined set up and the wind was swirling most of the day, as the guys were constantly backing off their shots to re check it.
Quiros said after his -6 64 that the course "doesn't suit his game as you need to feature a draw" as opposed to his natural fade, but he did provide one of the days highlights when he chipped in for birdie from below the green at 18.
However Rory looked in complete control, relaxed, every inch the world #2, and as he sets out next year to emulate the man at #1, Luke Donald, by playing both tours, it will be fascinating to see if he has the drive and desire to have a long run ala Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and of course Tiger at the #1 spot. He certainly has the game..
Here is an edited report from Europeantour.com
Rory McIlroy kept his hopes of catching Luke Donald in The Race to Dubai alive as the Northern Irishman ended the first round of the UBS Hong Kong Open in a three-way tie for the lead on -6 with David Horsey and Alvaro Quiros.
The 22 year old was among the first groups out at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling and collected six birdies without dropping a shot to set the early clubhouse mark with a 64 in windy morning conditions.
But Horsey responded with a similar effort in the afternoon, while Quiros chipped in at the 18th to also end the day -6. The trio head former two-time winner Miguel Angel Jiménez 65,-5, with Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin and Australian Darren Beck two back on 66 -4.
By the way, our pal Miguel Jimenez for the last couple of years has fully developed a considerable belly that he is lugging around the world, and I can't help but wonder if that is part of the problem with his inconsistant results this year with no wins and only 5 top 10's in 27 outings. (He has been 2nd 3 times..)
For the complete leaderboard click... http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2011/tournamentid=2011089/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
No comments:
Post a Comment