Rory McIlroy kicked off his 2025 season with an opening round of two-under-par 70 at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday, five shots behind the three leaders.
American amateur David Ford, Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and Australia’s David Micheluzzi all fired opening 65s to move to the top of the standings.
Northern Irishman McIlroy won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November for his third consecutive Race to Dubai title.
And making his first start in two months, the 35-year-old made four birdies for two bogeys at the Emirates Golf Club.
“Yeah, pretty disjointed,” McIlroy said.
“I actually felt like I probably played better the first eight holes where I was at one compared to the last 10 where I was at three under.
“It was a little disjointed. First competitive round of the year. First competitive round in a while. Definitely not as comfortable as I was in training and coming here.
“But it’s nice to have a card in hand. I got it and put it in within seconds, which is nice, and I didn’t put myself out of the tournament, which is the main thing .”
McIlroy is seeking his third consecutive victory at the Dubai Desert Classic and his fifth overall.
His Spanish rival Jon Rahm had a 69 after an eagle on the par-five 10th mixed with four birdies and three bogeys.
McIlroy and Rahm are in a battle between the DP World Tour and LIV Golf Tour No. 1 players at the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
In September, Spaniard Rahm won the LIV Golf season-long individual championship by winning the last of the regular events in Chicago.
With no Official World Golf Ranking points for the Saudi-backed league, the old world ranking has fallen to 31st place.
Rahm, who is still a member of the DP World Tour and has appealed the fines he received for participating in LIV Golf events, wants to ensure he makes the European Ryder Cup team for the event taking place in New York State in September.
On the first day of action in Dubai, Ford, who plays college golf in the United States and was part of the 2023 Walker Cup winning team, made an eagle on the tenth – his first hole of the day – and combined for six birdies with just one bogey.
“I try to keep my expectations low,” added Ford, 22, sixth in the world amateur golf rankings.
“I know where my game is right now and a lot of people around me believe in me, which is really helpful for this week.”
Micheluzzi made seven birdies in a flawless opening round while Gouveia had eight birdies and one bogey as he pursued his first DP World Tour victory in his 190th event.
Norwegian Viktor Hovland, world No. 8 and 2022 champion, made six bogeys and three birdies in a round of 75 to three.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, world No. 10 based in Dubai, carded 71 and American phenom Akshay Bhatia had an opening score of 69.
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