McIlroy shoots 69 in return, is 3 back in first event since October

Rory McIlroy’s patience was tested Thurs- day on his comeback and he needed three late birdies to register a 3-under 69 that left him three strokes behind first-round leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Hideto Tani- hara at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Starting on the 10th hole, McIlroy made 11 straight pars, which included a three-putt par on the par-5 18th.

Fleetwood, the defending Abu Dhabi champion and last year’s European Tour top money winner, hit all 18 greens in regulation.

There was a five-way tie for third place with Fabrizio Zanotti, Ross Fisher, Thomas Pieters, Bernd Wiesberger and Sam Brazel shooting 67s.

Top-ranked Dustin John- son drove his ball into a lake at the ninth, his closing hole, to finish with a 72. Matt Kuchar was also on level-par while Justin Rose shot a 71.

McIlroy, who hit 17 greens in regulation, collected his first birdie by making an uphill 15-foot putt at the third and added birdies at the seventh and eighth.

“First competitive round in over 100 days so it’s a little bit different,” said McIlroy, who last played at the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland on Oct. 8. “But I did well. I stayed patient. I gave myself loads of chances. Really pleased. I think I only missed one or two greens, drove the ball well and the iron play was pretty good. So just need to keep doing that over the next three days and I should have a chance.”

Fleetwood said he had con- trol of his ball throughout.

“It was very good. very stress-free,” he said. “Played really well from start to finish. My pace putting was really good. (Hitting) 18 greens doesn’t happen very often so nice to do it around here.”