Five rounds into Rory McIlroy’s 2018 season, things could hardly be going any better for the 28-year old Northern Irishman. In those 90 holes, McIlroy has recorded 26 birdies, an eagle and only three bogeys. Seven of those birdies — and none of the dropped shots — came in his latest outing, the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament that McIlroy has won twice during his decade-long professional career.
Perhaps the only downside for the four-times major champion is that his seven-under-par effort over the Majlis course at the Emirates Club was merely one of nine scores of 65 or better. The Welshman Jamie Donaldson leads after a remarkable 62 that included nine birdies, an eagle and a bogey on his final hole when a par would have matched Ernie Els’s course record. A cluster of Englishmen lurk just behind. Anthony Wall and David Horsey both shot 63; Tyrrell Hatton the lone 64.
“I didn’t know the course record,” Donaldson said. “I was only thinking of 59. Maybe I should have been concentrating on hitting fairways and greens, giving myself chances.”
Given that extraordinary level of scoring, McIlroy also left slightly disappointed at not going even lower than he did. He missed four legitimate chances inside ten feet, although he did make two unlikely long putts.
“Any time I hit the fairway, I’m able to get close to the pin, so my iron play has been pretty good over these last five rounds,” McIlroy said. “I was a bit erratic off the tee today but there are a lot of doglegs. Trying to cut corners makes the fairways play narrower.”
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Which is not to say that McIlroy spent all day in the rough. At times, his combination of length and accuracy off the tee was breathtaking. On the par-five 18th — his ninth — he found the back fringe of the green on a hole measuring 564 yards with a drive and a seven-iron. His tee shot, which left playing partners Sergio García and Henrik Stenson 70 yards in his wake, finished 191 yards from the pin. Yet still he wasn’t completely satisfied.
“I don’t feel like I particularly hit the ball that well off the tee,” he said. “I got away with a few tee shots but I managed my game well. It was very benign out there, perfect scoring conditions, and I was able to take advantage.”
Others did the same. Like Donaldson’s, Horsey’s card was littered with birdies — in his case ten — and only one dropped shot. Wall’s was “clean”, consisting of nine pars and nine birdies. Chris Paisley, the recent winner of the South African Open who tied for fifth in Abu Dhabi last week, continued his run of form by matching McIlroy’s 65.
It wasn’t all fun and games in the sun, though. And no one suffered more than the 2016 Masters champion, Danny Willett. At two under par with two holes to play, the 30-year-old Yorkshireman looked poised to provide an encouraging boost to his sagging confidence. It wasn’t to be, however.
Way right off the 8th tee, Willett made a triple-bogey seven by way of the desert sands. Worse was to follow. After finding the water in front of the green with his attempted approach to the par-four 9th, Willett four-putted from 12 feet for a quadruple-bogey eight. It all added up to 77, the highest round of the day.
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Tiger Woods nearly marked his return to the PGA Tour with a hole-in-one in the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
The 14-times major winner got off to an inauspicious start as he hooked his tee shot at the 1st hole over and beyond the spectators who had lined the fairway to see the former world No 1 in action in California. His second shot ended up in the bunker and he missed a tricky putt to save par.
But on the par-three 16th, having carded two bogeys and two birdies since the 1st hole, the 42-year-old nearly holed out off the tee. He was left a simple putt for birdie and finished even for the day, seven shots behind the clubhouse leader Tony Finau.
“It was fun, it was fun to compete again. I was a little rusty,” Woods said.