Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: First round toppers
The first round of Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship wrapped up as the evening descended on the greens of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Here is a quick glance at the top scorers of the leaderboard.
Charl Schwartzel surged into temporary lead after compiling a scorecard of 8-under-par. The South African chose to tee from the front and captured five birdies with the help of powerful iron play. He carried the charm to the back nine, where he opened with
a powerful defence. Schwartzel carved his first shot over a huge sand bunker strategically located on the fairway of the tenth tee and earned his way to the green within three shots. He then putted his sixth birdie of the day. That was only the start, as the
veteran fired two more consecutive birdies on the following holes and surged to the top of the leaderboard.
Owing to mounting pressure, he could not manage his nerves, which was quite evident from the sweat tears rolling down his forehead and eventually, he missed a par putt at the 17th hole.
One stroke below him was the veteran from Ireland, Padraig Harrington. The three-time major winner composed a beautiful scorecard with five birdies and one eagle.
Meanwhile, his Ryder Cup teammate, Graeme McDowell wandered around in a red polo shirt carrying a wedge most of the time. The Northern Irishman teed off from the front and unlike his teammate, failed to understand the front nine of the course once again.
Before coming to the first round, McDowell had said, “There are some tweaks to the golf course off the tee which suits my game.” Graeme’s self-assessment proved wrong, as he could only manage a single birdie on the front.
Despite the early blow, the player helped six birdies in the back and surged back into the top threes.
One spot below was Martin Kaymer, the punter who won four titles in 2010 and became the winner of Race to Dubai. Kaymer seemed tense on the par-72 course, which is why he failed to perform on the front nine. He helped only two birdies against a bogey and
left rest of the course to the pars. Kaymer had a blistering start when he fired four birdies in the back, but could not stay vaulted to his pace.
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