DP World Tour : Dubai Invitational Leaderboard
Rory McIlroy made a stunning start to the defense of his Race to Dubai title as a bogey free -9 62 handed him a two-shot lead after day one of the inaugural Dubai Invitational.
The Northern Irishman was teeing it up for the first time since being presented with his fifth Harry Vardon Trophy at the DP World Tour Championship and he returned to the United Arab Emirates looking for a sixth career win in Dubai, the place where he claimed his first nearly 15 years ago.
His nine birdies saw him lead the way from Germany's Yannik Paul -7 64 at Dubai Creek Resort, with South African Thriston Lawrence at -6 65
Multiple DP World Tour winners and Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood -5 66 and Thorbjorn Olesen -5 66 were then four shots off the lead.
The 2023 season saw McIlroy win his first two Rolex Series titles while also finishing in the top ten at three of the four Major Championships.
He said coming into this week that a fifth Major title was his main goal in 2024 but a sixth Race to Dubai triumph is also at the forefront of his mind as he chases down Colin Montgomerie's record of eight.
"I didn't expect that," he said. "It didn't feel quite as good as that the first couple of days when I was here and hitting balls and playing the course.
"It was nice to get a card in the hand again and sort of feel the competitive juices flowing.
"This is a nice week to do some extra practice and put some work in so that I feel a bit more ready not just for next week... but also going into the bulk of the season.
"I surprised myself a little bit but hopefully more of the same over the next few days.
"I think around the creek you have to miss it in the right spots. There's some water here and there. I think a did a good job today of managing my misses and missing on the right side and when I did make a hit shot, I managed to take advantage of it."
Englishman Fleetwood was bogey-free in his 66, while Olesen added an eagle and a bogey to four birdies in his round.
Fellow Dane Nicolai Højgaard, American Sean Crocker, South African Zander Lombard and Spaniard Adrian Otaegui were at -4 67
In the team event, McIlroy and Abdulla Al Naboodah led the way at -13, three shots clear of Paul and JJ Dudum.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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