McILROY’S TWO-SHOT LEAD AFTER FINE START
RORY MCILROY exceeded his expectations as he started his 2024 season with a flawless opening 62 in the inaugural Dubai Invitational yesterday.
Competing for the first time since finishing a distant 22nd in the DP World Tour Championship, McIlroy looked anything but rusty as he recorded nine birdies at Dubai Creek Resort to open up a two-shot lead over Germany’s Yannik Paul.
Paul carded eight birdies and a solitary bogey in his 64, with South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence on six under and Tommy Fleetwood (pictured) and Thorbjorn Olesen another stroke back.
McIlroy, who will defend his Dubai Desert Classic title next week, told Sky Sports: ‘I didn’t expect that.
‘It didn’t feel quite as good as that the first couple of days when I was here hitting balls and playing the course but it was nice to get a card in the hand again and feel the competitive juices flowing.
‘I surprised myself a little bit but hopefully more of the same over the next few days.
‘When the wind gets up, it can get a little bit tricky. We played the first 12 or 13 holes basically without any wind and then there was a little coming in.
‘I think you just have to miss it in the right spots, there’s some water here and there and I think I did a good job today of managing my misses on the right side and when I did hit good shots, I was available to take advantage of them.’
The tournament features a 72-hole strokeplay tournament played alongside a three-day pro-am team event, with Sunday featuring professionals only.
‘These pro-ams I either play with my dad or this week I’m playing with the tournament host, so there’s maybe added pressure there as well to go out and perform, but it’s a very easy way to get back into things,’ McIlroy added.
‘This is a nice week to do some extra practice and put some work in so that I feel a bit more ready, not just for next week which is obviously a bigger event, but also going into the bulk of the season.’
Fleetwood is now based in Dubai but had to make a long journey home after finishing 47th in The Sentry in Hawaii last week.
‘I played pretty solid for the most part,’ the world number 15 said after a bogey-free 66. ‘I drove it well. ‘I feel like with how firm the greens are it’s important to put yourself in places so you can get as much control with your iron shots as possible.
‘I was happy with the way I played after long travel but happy to be out here. You know, golf moves fast, and on to another week.’ Meanwhile, Manchester City defender John Stones and Formula One driver Alex Albon have joined Steph Curry in investing in a franchise in the high-tech golf competition created by McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
Stones and Albon have through their investment in fund manager Apex joined Curry in the investor group behind the San Francisco team that will play in the TGL project that launches next year.
Six franchises in TGL will play in a domed arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Matches will be played over 15 holes where longer shots played off real grass or sand are hit into a giant simulator. Short-game shots are played to a high-tech green complex that rotates on a turntable to create different contours.
The two-hour matches are set to be broadcast by ESPN on a three-month schedule when it starts in 2025, ending before the Masters in April.
TGL was set to start this week but damage two months ago to the domed arena pushed back the opening match by a year.