Hero Dubai Desert Classic: Despite their pre-tournament spat, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed managed to set the clubhouse target during the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s opening round.
At Emirates Golf Club, where six hours of play were lost on Thursday before Friday’s action was postponed due to a flooded course, McIlroy came back to play his final three holes in four under par to finish an outstanding opening-round 66.
World No. 1 made a birdie on the seventh hole, then made an incredible hole-out eagle from the sand at the following par-four. A birdie on the eighth hole put him on six under, sharing the lead with Reed.
McIlroy was unimpressed with his “rusty” golf in the first round, despite grabbing the early lead.
McIlroy admitted, “I struggled there for the majority of yesterday.” At the end of the day, I felt that I had performed admirably.
“After playing some pretty poor, rusty golf over the opening 14 holes, I battled back. Then, yes, I went out today, but I don’t really know whether anything worked because I don’t think I made enough shots to determine that. But it was unquestionably required.
“The way I played, I would have been content with anything around 70, so to come in and score 66 is definitely the bonus,” the golfer said.
With a 15-foot eagle on the last hole on Friday, Reed completed his final two rounds and shot a 66 for the first round. Reed also had five birdies on the second, fourth, fifth, 12th, and 14th holes.
Reed stated, “I’m certainly incredibly thrilled with the way I played.” I thought my performance last week didn’t fully reflect the arduous work I’ve been putting in over the off-season.
“It was more like getting out of practice for competitive golf. So it was definitely a plus to come out this week feeling like I was able to put everything together and to have my mind focused on game planning and course management.
“I had complete control over the golf ball and completed a few putts after entering the course for the first time and realising that it was more of a positional golf course than a hit it wherever kind of location.”
Due to the delays brought on by the rain, Reed and McIlroy won’t begin their second round until early on Saturday. The remainder of the draw is yet to start their opening round.
After being ignored by the world No. 1 on the practise range, Reed threw a tee in the direction of McIlroy, dominating the pre-tournament build-up.
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