Rory McIlroy, Robert Karlsson in share of first round lead at Abu Dhabi Golf Championship: Highlights
Fourth event on the 2012 European Tour season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship kicked off on Thursday, January 26, at the scenic Abu Dhabi Golf Club with one of the largest turn out of spectators.
The field strengthened by the top-ranked players in the world, has attracted the most star-studded field in the history of the event.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson surged to the top of the leaderboard with their blistering knocks of five-under, 67 to share the lead on the opening day.
Karlsson, who started off from back nine, pulled in seven birdies in all, dropping two shots on the front nine.
Former European number one Karlsson was more than happy with his day’s knock and hopes to extend his lead through the weekend.
He said, “I'm very proud of myself, I managed to turn something that wasn't very good into something very good on the scorecard and I’m very happy with that. I think I have a little bit of work to do on the range this afternoon. I don't think we are going to play many tournaments this year that's going to be a stronger field than this. I think we have the one, two, three, four in the world here, so it's a pleasure to play here, and the golf course is set up fantastic”.
US Open champion, McIlroy, who played his round paired with his childhood hero, Tiger Woods, along with world number one Luke Donald, played stunning golf throughout the day.
He carded no fewer than seven birdies and dropped two shots on the back nine.
This is McIlroy’s fourth visit to the Middle Eastern city and has finished for an impressive fifth, third and second on his last three ventures.
He admitted that he faltered on a few occasions through the day and could have easily surged to the top if he had not made those mistakes.
Former world number one and most sought after player on the turf, Woods, remained composed on the opening day, carding just two birdies in his bogey-free round.
Meanwhile Donald also carded two birdies but had to fall back with a bogey on par-three, 7th.
2010 Pebble Beach US Open champion, Graeme McDowell suffered a devastating day when he fell for a double-bogey on the last hole, only to realise that his putter has a crack in it.
Going three-under earlier in the day, McDowell was hoping to stay in contention for the title but the misadventure on the last hole pushed him down the leaderboard, forcing him to settle for even-par, 72.
Defending champion Martin Kaymer had the worst day when he fell for an unusual five-over, 77 and has probably lost his chances of making the cut over the weekend.
He started off the day with a double-bogey on the first hole and dropped four shots through the 18-hole stretch.
Grinning Sergio Garcia also had an eventful day when he pulled in a stunning eagle at par-three, 12th off the tee.
Tags: