Rory McIlroy was in imperious form at the Emirates Golf Club as he stormed to the summit of the leaderboard of the 25th Omega Dubai Desert Classic after a brilliant opening round of 63.
It was a truly stunning display from tee to green, with McIlroy showing the form that saw him win the Australian Open in December, and finish in a tie for second in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. The 24-year-old, who won his first professional title here five years ago, would card a blemish free round that included seven bogeys and an eagle as he set the standard with his nine-under par opening.
Italy’s former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari is in second after a seven-under 65, with defending champion Stephen Gallacher, who was alongside McIlroy in the star group on Thursday, among those handily placed at six-under.
World Number One Tiger Woods completed that marquee pairing, and remarkably completed a bogey free round of 68 despite being completely wayward from tee to green. The 14-time major winner, who is days removed from one of the worst rounds of his career at Torrey Pines in California, was reduced to making eight scrambles from off the green after only hitting 50% of the fairways.
“It was good,” McIlroy said without utilising more appropriate adjectives. “It was really nice. I played really well from tee to green, drove the ball great again; I think I only missed a couple of fairways and only missed one green where I had to really get it up and down.
“I took advantage of how I am driving the ball and just need to do more of the same the next three days.”
McIlroy’s performance in Abu Dhabi, where he was left to bemoan an error that saw him incur two-shot penalty on the Saturday, was built around his prodigious skills off the tee, and he continued in that manner in Abu Dhabi by confidently sending the ball straight and long down the immaculately presented fairways.
After a disappointing 2013, the two-time major winner looks to be returning very close to the form that saw him lift those titles in dominant fashion. When asked just how close he is to his best, McIlroy said: “It's close, obviously. This year I've shot a couple of good rounds. This is a little lower than I went in Abu Dhabi and I feel very comfortable with my game.”
Edoardo Molinari has endured a difficult few years with injury since making his Ryder Cup debut alongside his brother Francesco in 2010 at Celtic Manor, but the 32-year-old from Turin was delighted after his stunning opening 65 on Thursday afternoon to leave him two shots back of McIlroy.
“It was a good day,” he said. “I played a couple of practice rounds in the morning and in the afternoon it's definitely more difficult, especially the back nine was quite tricky, but I hit the ball really well. I missed a couple of putts but I'm hitting the ball really well.
“I've been hitting the ball very well lately, and especially off the tee. The only blemish on the card was 18 today and I actually didn't commit to the shot. But apart from that, I think I hit every fairway all day.
“Tomorrow I'll be able to play in the morning with softer greens, and I think that's going to be a big help tomorrow, because surely the greens will be firmer and firmer as the week goes by.”
Last week, Tiger Woods missed the 54-hole cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a venue where he has won eight times as a professional, following an astonishingly poor third round of 79.
Returning to Dubai for a seventh occasion, where he has won twice, the 38-year-old at times looked be completely struggling with his long game, but scrambled magnificently to play his front-nine in four-under, before making nine consecutive pars on his second nine to complete an opening 68.
Woods didn’t give much away when reflecting on his round: “I played all right today. I probably could have got a couple more out of it. I didn't hit a bad putt today which was nice, it was just that sometimes the grain grabbed it pretty hard at the end.”
His playing partner McIlroy was perhaps a little candid when asked on Tiger’s performance, emphasising just how impressive Woods’ scrambling was on Thursday morning.
“He's a true pro, he knows there are no pictures on a scorecard,” McIlroy said. “He was hitting it a lot better at the end of the round but to shoot the score he did on our front nine was a good effort.”
It was a good effort from Tiger, but a brilliant one from Rory as he looks for a second victory in the desert of Dubai.