Tommy Fleetwood carded a course record-equalling 10-under-par 62 to take the first round lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs and penultimate event of the 2024 Race to Dubai.
Rory McIlroy leads the Irish trio at five-under, with Tom McKibbin one behind at -4 and Shane Lowry one further adrift at three-under.
Despite McIlroy being on the cusp of winning a sixth Race to Dubai title – he would sew it up with a week to spare if he were to finish more than 2,000 Rankings points ahead of his nearest challenger after this event – it’s McKibbin who has arguably got more to play for as his PGA Tour card hangs in the balance.
The 21-year-old made one bogey which came on the par-4 10th, but made five birdies either side, two coming on the front and a further three over the final eight holes to end the day tied for 28th. But he’s projected to slip back to 20th in Race to Dubai rankings and to 13th in line for the 10 PGA Tour cards, so he knows he needs to keep the pedal down over the next three rounds.
Lowry got nothing going on the greens until he rolled in a 10-footer on the ninth to record his first birdie after eight straight pars, and despite making a further two birdies and going bogey-free on the back side, missed several other good birdie opportunities so was left frustrated after signing for a 69 that leaves him tied for 35th.
Englishman Fleetwood, already a two-time winner of this tournament after claiming back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018, carded eight birdies and an eagle on a low-scoring day at Yas Links to sit one stroke ahead of former Ryder Cup teammate Thorbjørn Olesen and America’s Johannes Veerman.
The 33-year-old, a seven-time DP World Tour winner, was four under after just three holes as he started birdie, eagle, birdie, and he made six further gains as he signed for his bogey-free round, rolling in a final birdie at the last to take the outright lead.
Fleetwood also has one eye on a second Race to Dubai title as he started the week in fifth place on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. A strong performance in Abu Dhabi would give him an outside chance of catching current Rankings leader and reigning Number One Rory McIlroy at next week’s DP World Tour Championship.
“When you shoot a 62, obviously everything is going to have gone very, very well. Just happy to have got off to a great start,” Fleetwood said.
“I didn’t feel like I swung it perfectly early on and I actually felt like I started playing better as the round got to the back nine. I felt like I swung it really nicely on the back nine. One poor iron shot trying to drill it on 17.
“Putted amazing. Felt like I read the greens so well. Beautiful pace control and hit a lot of good putts and started holing them. I worked even all the way through to the last hole, I just hit perfect putts.
“The wind picked up a little bit, but overall it was fairly calm, and I think the course, fairways are playing fast. Greens are actually quite receptive and the greens are perfect.
“You’ve got to this part of the year, and how many are in this field, 70? 70 best players on the DP World Tour, very good golf and we had nice conditions on a beautiful golf course. Just shows the standard of golf that’s out there.”
Denmark’s Olesen is seeking a second Rolex Series victory this week to follow on from his 2018 Italian Open success. The Dane won his eighth DP World Tour title earlier this year in the UAE, triumphing at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January.
Veerman, who won his maiden title at the 2021 D+D REAL Czech Masters, earned his place in the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs after finishing T8, T14 and T14 in his last three starts. He carded eight birdies and an eagle as he joined Olesen on nine under par.
Four-time Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton shares fourth on eight under with fellow Englishmen Laurie Canter and Paul Waring and Italy’s Francesco Laporta.