Omega Dubai Desert Classic: Rory shines, Kaymer & Westwood falter
The first round of the Omega Desert Classic was not much of a surprise. Rory McIlroy took advantage of the early conditions and surged up while Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood faltered.
The first round of the $2.5 million-purse event kicked off in windy conditions with the sun shining at its zenith.
McIlroy went out to tee in the morning. He teed off from the back and smashed four birdies without any loss. He fired another set of three back-to-back birdies on the opening holes to take the highest spot on the leader board.
He dropped a shot on the seventh hole, which resulted in a bogey, but McIlroy countered it off with a chip shot on the eighth and wrapped the day as the leader.
McIlroy was very happy with his game. Speaking to the press he said, “Today was good - I really hit a lot of good iron shots. I had a putt for another 64, but I will take 65 in those conditions every day.”
The second spot of the leader board was taken by the Spaniard Sergio Garcia and South African Thomas Aiken. The duo smashed a score of five-under-par after picking five birdies without a loss.
The most interesting shot was seen at the 14th hole, when a tee shot by Garcia stopped close to the water on the right. The Spaniard has his right foot a few inches away from the water and chances were that the ball could slip into the hazard, carving a
bogey. However, Garcia managed the shot well and smacked the second shot flying over the fairway into the green.
Lee Westwood teed off from the back and relished a safe scorecard after picking a point on the back and two on the front. Westwood has been a total disaster on the desert swings. He finished 64th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and 77th at the Commercialbank
Qatar Masters.
He was one of the betting favourites for the tournament, but once again proved the critics wrong. Though he played considerably well, he dropped the shot at the par-5 18th hole, which was eagled by Tiger Woods.
Looking at his stats, critics say he may sign a score in the 70s in the next three rounds. After all, that is what he did at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
However, Westwood thinks otherwise. He blamed his slip on ‘lack of concentration.’
Meanwhile, Kaymer picked three shots on the back, before bogeying the par-3 15th. He managed to play safe on the monster hole (18th) and wrapped the first half at 2-under-par. On his way to the front, the German smashed a fantastic birdie putt on the third
hole to compile a score of three-under-par. He carved two more on the last three holes giving an assumption that he might finish second in the round, but failed miserably. He smashed the second shot from the left of the fairway, which bounced on the green,
but ultimately fell in the bunker on the right.
Kaymer is bidding for the world-number one rank as he is just a few points away from Lee Westwood, the Englishman who overthrew Tiger Woods in October. However, with performances like this, he is losing his chances at the top slot.
Meanwhile, Woods clamped a score of one-under-par after smashing an eagle on the 18th hole, becoming the sixth player in the day to hammer one. The American is catching up on pace, but will he revive his Tiger-charm is yet to find out.
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