DP WORLD Tour : Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship Tee Times Leaderboard
Playing in ideal desert weather in Abu Dhabi, sunny, clear blue sky, gentle breeze, hot on an immaculate Yas Links GC 36 year old Italian Francesco LaPorta made it look easy, out early this morning with an 8 birdie, 1 eagle 30 32 -10 62 for the clubhouse lead.
He moves up 51 places in the Race to Dubai Rankings to #6.
Spaniard Jon Rahm returning to action after the birth of his 4th child, and England's Sam Bairstow are T2 with -7 65.
Remember these 70 players will be reduced to the final 50 who will contest the Tour Championship next week in Dubai.
FINAL EDIT 1pm EST..2026/11/05
Francesco Laporta matched the lowest round of his DP World Tour career to storm into a three-shot lead after round one of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
The Italian carded an eagle and eight birdies in a bogey-free 62 to get to -10 at Yas Links, three shots clear of former World Number One Jon Rahm 65 -7, Englishman Sam Bairstow 65 -7 and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger 65 -7
In the battle to win the Race to Dubai, leader Eugenio Chacarra and third-placed Rory McIlroy carded rounds of -2 70, with second-placed Patrick Reed recording a +2 74.
The 36-year-old Italian, has had a quietly impressive season, the highlight of which so far has been a runner-up finish at the Investec South African Open Championship.
That was the third second-place of his DP World career, a career which has seen him truly establish himself on Tour in recent years after coming through the Qualifying School and then twice graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour, winning the Road to Mallorca in 2019.
"Everything was just going like a video game, like just hitting shots straight and making some putts and just giving myself opportunities," he said. "I'm very happy about that.
"Actually, I was struggling a bit in the last few days. So I had a lot of time on the range yesterday and I spent a lot of time on the greens, just understanding how to work around the lines and the spin because the greens, like they're pure, but they're also quick. So now it works."
Bairstow was the last man in the field and the first man out in the morning, making the most of his opportunity by carding seven birdies in a bogey-free effort.
Spaniard Rahm was playing the event for the first time and was also bogey-free as he looks to make it to Dubai next week.
Wiesberger is currently on track for dual membership with the PGA TOUR and he carded eight birdies and a single bogey -7 65 to sit a shot ahead of England's Matthew Jordan and Pole Adrian Meronk both -6 66
Defending champion Aaron Rai, fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, in-form Japanese Yuto Katsuragawa, China's Wenyi Ding, South African Shaun Norris and Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan were then a further shot back at -5 67s
McIlroy carded six birdies in his round -2 70 including a hat-trick from the 14th, but carded an 8 on the 12th after being penalised two strokes under Rule 8.1b(4) for his actions immediately before playing his fourth stroke, his second chip shot from the rough.
Chacarra -2 70 carded six birdies and four bogeys, while Reed T56 +2 74 made a birdie, a bogey and a double on the last.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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