DESERT STORMER
To the Victor the spoils – Scotland- based Perez in Dubai heaven thanks to a very Scottish shot
DUNDEE- BASED Victor Perez is in pole position to win the Race to Dubai after holing a very Scottish bumpand- run in the desert.
The Frenchman has a one- shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick, Bob Macintyre and Erik van Rooyen after the first round of the season- ending DP World Championship.
Ti g h t p i n s , t h i c k e r rough and blustery winds saw only 25 of the 65- man field finish under par on the Earth Course at t h e Ju meirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Perez, who lives in the City of Discovery w i t h h i s S c o t t i s h g i r l f r i e n d Abi g a i l , made six birdies in his five- under 67.
And the highlight was finding the bottom of the 14th cup with a 3- wood from of f t he green aft er leaving his first pitch shot short. “It was obviously fortunate and a good bonus because I could have easily walked away with si x and the round might not have ended up the way it did,” said world No. 37 Perez.
“But I ’m very pleased. W h e n t h o s e t h i n g s happen, we’ll take them.
“In the position I ’m in, I have nothing to l ose. I have everything to gain. So for me it’s really a goingfor- it mentality that I have to keep for four rounds.”
Perez, who won t he Alfred Dunhill Links last year, st ar t ed t he f i nal event in sixth place in the
Race to D u b a i and will bank the $ 3million if leader Patrick Reed does not finish solo second. The Ryder Cup star, bidding to become the first American to finish the year as Europe’s No. 1, opened with a 70 while Tommy Fleetwood shot a 69.
Fitzpatrick, who won this event in 2016, carded a 68 in a tournament in which 61 pl ayer s c an mathematically still win the Race to Dubai.
“It’s very strange that so many players still have a chance,” said the Sheffield s star ( left). “I think it’s j just been a long year. T To be able to have a chance to win the Race to Dubai des p i t e e v e r y t h i n g t hat ’s goin g on i s amazing and I ’d be delighted if I could take the opportunity that I have.”
S c o t Macin t y r e c omplained about his driving after his 68 but nailed a string of big putts, includi ng a 45- footer on the seventh. “The putter feels great in the hands and it’s just about trusting your line and committing t o what y ou do and I managed to hole a few,” said last season’s Rookie of the Year.
In his 150th start on t h e E u r o p e a n To u r, Ty r r e l l Ha t t o n a l s o signed for a 69 despite hitting a t ree while attempting a miracle shot on the f i nal hole.
“There wasn’t really a gap, but
I just couldn’t be bothered to chip out sideways,” he said.
L e e
Westwood , w h o managed j ust ni n e h o l e s i n p r a c t i c e d u e t o a back injury, shot a 70.