Rory McIlroy made a strong start to the defence of his Race to Dubai title as a bogey-free 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 at Dubai Creek Resort saw him lead the way from Germany’s Yannik Paul on seven under par, with South African Thriston Lawrence a shot further back six under.
Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjørn Olesen are four shots off the lead at the event which sees 60 professional players competing in a 72-hole strokeplay tournament, which is played concurrently with a three-day team Pro-Am, with Sunday featuring professionals only.
Four-time Major winner McIlroy also tops the Team Leaderboard, posting an opening 13 under par 58 alongside teammate and tournament host Abdulla Al Naboodah. Germany’s Paul and his amateur playing partner JJ Dudum are second on ten under par.
Speaking after his round, McIlroy said: “I didn’t expect that. 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. But it was nice to get a card in the hand again and sort of feel the competitive juices flowing. I think a did a good job today of managing my misses and missing on the right side.”
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