Spain’s Alejandro Canizares claimed the first rounds lead at the DP World Tour Championship, as Henrik Stenson strengthened his position in the battle to win the Race to Dubai.
Jumeirah Golf Estates is the setting for the finale of the 2013 European Tour season, with nine players still potentially capable of becoming the Tour’s number one. Three of those players – Stenson, Rose and McDowell – are guaranteed to win the Race, should they win this week’s showpiece. All of them remain firmly in contention after Thursday, as do the majority of the protagonists – with seven of the nine situated within the top ten of the leaderboard after day one.
However, at the summit of the Championship itself, it is the 30-year-old Canizares who leads the way. Back in 2006, the Madrid born player won in only his third start on the Tour. But more than seven years, and 200 plus starts later, he is yet to add that maiden triumph. Victory this week would be profitable, not least, as it would see him ascend from 54th on the Race to Dubai into the top ten – ensuring that he would claim a percentage of the $3.75 million bonus pool.
Canizares would post an opening six-under round of 66 to lead by a shot from the talented Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Australia’s Marcus Fraser. Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson is a shot further back at four-under, alongside last week’s runner-up Jamie Donaldson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
The attention this week has been on the main contenders for the Race to Dubai title – with Stenson the natural focal point. He looked supreme for the majority of the day on the Greg Norman design, before succumbing to a three-putt bogey on the 18th. However, despite that late mishap, which the Swede blamed on a loss of concentration, the FedEx Cup champion emphasised the difficulty that his challengers will have to overhaul him, despite his battle against a recurring wrist injury.
Realistically, the Race to Dubai winner will come from four players – Stenson, Rose, McDowell and Ian Poulter. Rose, the U.S. Open champion, partnered the Swede on Thursday, and shot a two-under round of 70, with a top five finish a minimum if the 2007 Order of Merit winner is two add this money title. Graeme McDowell is six shots off the lead after a 72, while Ian Poulter produced the most impressive round of the trio with a 69.
“It has been a lot of hard work all season and I just let my focus slip on the last,” said Stenson, who is looking to become the first player to win the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same year.
“That sucks, but I am still in good shape and playing nicely. The guys are running on fumes so everybody is looking forward to getting done.
”You can't win a tournament on Thursday but you can certainly play your way out of it. I would have taken four under at the start of the day so I just have to let the disappointment of the last slip away.”
Ian Poulter has made a stunning surge towards the upper echelons of the Race to Dubai in recent weeks – finishing 15th, second and fifth in the three events of the Final Series. He would make four birdies and one bogey in his round of 69, but left the course frustrated after missing a number of excellent scoring opportunities.
“I am annoyed,” Poulter said. “I made two putts which were outside birdie chances and took a couple more but the rest were missed. I am frustrated but happy to be only three behind.
”I need to continue to be aggressive and see if I can nick it at the end. It's a good mix to be really angry being three under par and still being in there for the next three days.”
Like Stenson, Justin Rose is also nursing an injury – with an inflamed shoulder requiring an MRI scan. However, the U.S Open champion is in the enviable position of controlling his own destiny, with a victory this week guaranteeing that he will finish the season atop of the money list.
“Henrik is making it hard for the rest of us but that's why I wanted it in my own hands and that's still the case, so my goal remains the same for the rest of the week,” said the 33-year-old Englishman.
However, if Rose wants to win this week – then he may have to overhaul Alejandro Canizares, who was just happy to have made it to Dubai after issues with his girlfriend’s visa.
“My girlfriend is from the Czech Republic and I always forget she doesn't have a Spanish passport and needs a visa,” Canizares explained. “I only remembered when we got to the check-in desk at the airport in Turkey on Sunday evening and handed over the passports.
”Fortunately we had help from a lot of people and the tournament director Nick Tarratt was waiting with Dubai's captain of immigration when we got to Dubai at 3am on Monday morning.”
After that inauspicious start, it may yet become a special week for Canizares and his visa requiring lady.