Rory McIlroy moved another step closer to sealing his sixth Race to Dubai crown after carding a five-under-par 67 to share the lead with Tyrrell Hatton after the opening round of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The four-time Major champion drained a 48ft putt on the Earth Course’s 17th hole for his sixth birdie of the day, following earlier gains on the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 10th and 14th holes, with his sole bogey coming on the fifth.
McIlroy is chasing his third victory in the DP World Tour Championship having previously won the title at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 2012 and 2015, also clinching the Race to Dubai crown on both of those occasions.
He strengthened his chances of ending the week with two trophies once again by matching Hatton’s opening round effort, with South African Thriston Lawrence, the only player who can still deny him the Race to Dubai title, six shots off the pace in a share off 37th position after a one over par opening 73.
Hatton, who has twice been a runner up in the DP World Tour Championship in 2016 and 2022, posted seven birdies in his round of 67.
Last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner, Paul Waring, continued his impressive form by signing for a 68 to sit one shot back in his bid for back-to-back Rolex Series titles.
BMW PGA Championship winner Billy Horschel is a further shot back on three under in a share of fourth place with seven other players, including Keita Nakajima, Rikuya Hoshino, Matt Wallace and Niklas Nørgaard.
Speaking after his opening round, McIlroy said: “I thought I hit the ball pretty well today. I gave myself plenty of chances, and when I did put myself out of position, I was smart and either just trying to get it back in position or leave myself with a bit of room to work with if I was missing the greens.
“The course is playing a little bit more difficult than in previous years because of how thick the rough is. We are going to have to just keep the ball in play as much as possible over these next three days.
“I want to go on from here and win the tournament. I’ve opened up with a really good score, but I need to go out and play similarly over these next three days, not just to try to win the tournament, but also to try to get the job done in The Race to Dubai.
I’m under no illusions that that was probably Thriston’s worst day. If he goes out and has three good ones, I still need to go out there and play some very solid golf.”
