Rory McIlroy made a strong start to his bid for a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title with a three-under-par opening round at the DP World Tour Championship. The world number two, whose round included five birdies and two bogeys in windy conditions, is two shots behind early leader Joost Luiten.
Opening Round Action and Leaderboard
Dutchman Joost Luiten grabbed the early lead after turning in five under, though he cancelled two birdies with two bogeys on the back nine to settle for a round of 67. He sits one clear of Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, who carded a four-under 68.
McIlroy finished his round joint third alongside France’s Victor Perez, Italy’s G De Leo, Germany’s F Schott, and Italy’s F Laporta. Northern Ireland’s McIlroy birdied two of his opening four holes before giving a shot back at the fifth. He added birdies at the seventh and 11th, and despite taking six at the par-five 14th, he finished with a two-putt birdie four.
Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy stated that it was a pretty fair score and mentioned that he hit the ball well for the most part while managing tricky wind conditions and a difficult course set-up. He also noted that patience was required on the greens.
Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, who leads McIlroy in the Race to Dubai standings by 533.93 points with 2,000 points available to this week’s winner, opened with a level-par 72. Chacarra finished his front nine with three straight birdies to turn in a two-under 34, but dropped shots at the 13th and 15th holes to lie five strokes back from Luiten. Third-placed American Patrick Reed struggled during an opening round of 75.
Race to Dubai Contenders
Nine players remain mathematically capable of clinching the Race to Dubai: Chacarra, McIlroy, Reed, Casey Jarvis, Aaron Rai, Jon Rahm, Ryan Fox, Jayden Schaper, and Daniel Hillier. However, only Chacarra and McIlroy can guarantee the season-long accolade simply by securing a victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Jon Rahm, who won his first tournament since leaving LIV Golf last week in Abu Dhabi, mixed four birdies and three bogeys in an opening 71 to sit alongside New Zealand’s Hillier at one under par. Meanwhile, Jarvis, Schaper, and Fox all finished at two over par, while England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai struggled with rounds of 76 and 74 respectively.
Emphasizing the importance of the opening day, McIlroy added that players cannot win the tournament on the first day, but can certainly lose it. He concluded that getting off to a solid start was very important because it was possible to shoot a couple over and feel out of the tournament.
