Defending champion Rory McIlroy had to settle for a “disjointed” opening round 70 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Seeking a third consecutive victory at the Emirates Golf Club, McIlroy made four birdies and two bogeys to find himself five shots behind the lead shared by American amateur David Ford, Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia and Australian David Micheluzzi.
“Yeah, pretty disjointed,” was McIlroy’s assessment of his round.
“I actually felt like I probably played the first eight holes where I was one over better than the last 10 where I was three under.
“First competitive round of the year. First round of competition in a while. A little uncomfortable in some shots. Certainly not as comfortable as I was in training and coming here.
“But it’s good to have a card in hand. It kind of exposes the things that you need to work on. I got it today in pennies, which is good, and I didn’t put myself out of the tournament, which is the main thing.
“I did a good job scrambling today. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. Bonus of one chip-in in seven. But I don’t want to have to rely on my short game the rest of the week like I did today.
Ford, who plans to turn professional in May, looked poised to take the lead when he went seven under par through his first 11 holes, but matched his final seven holes to match the 65 posted by Micheluzzi and Gouveia.
“It was great,” said the 22-year-old left-hander.
“I made a few putts that I didn’t know were going to make, I made a lot of good iron shots.
“I loved where the bowling was set up today. I felt like a lot of them were right for me.
Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera marked his return after a six-month absence due to mental health problems with an opening 67 just two shots from the lead.
“I was crying on the first tee,” the 39-year-old told reporters.
“I managed to hit an absolute dart down the middle of the fairway. Big mistake, I relaxed and managed to hit the worst 2 iron ever so had to save a par. It felt good.
“I have had a lot of support since I returned. Lots of messages and lots of people have been very nice to me. It feels good.
“I felt like I could play golf well because I felt rested and, actually, the mindset was very important.
“The mindset this week and for the next three weeks is just to go out there and enjoy the golf, which hasn’t been easy the last two or three years. I actually really enjoyed this day.
Jon Rahm, two-time major champion, making his debut in the event, obtained a first 69.