Rory McIlroy opened the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai with a three-under 69 on Thursday, outscoring Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra by three shots in the final group and keeping alive his bid for an eighth season title, a number only Colin Montgomerie has reached.
The Northern Irishman made five birdies and two bogeys on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and finished in a share of third, two shots behind first-round leader Joost Luiten. Chacarra, the 26-year-old Spaniard who has led the season-long rankings, signed for a level-par 72 after four birdies and four bogeys.
A near-eagle at the 18th
McIlroy almost did more. His eagle chance on the par-five closing hole stopped just short, and according to the DP World Tour, holing it would have lifted him into a tie for second and moved him above Chacarra in the projected standings. He tapped in for birdie instead.
“Very pleased,” McIlroy said afterwards, adding that the wind was stronger than usual and the rough more punishing off the tee. “So, yeah, anything in the 60s today I felt was a good score. And sort of held it together nicely when I needed to.”
The 37-year-old world No. 2 arrived in Dubai after finishing third at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the result that lifted him past Patrick Reed into second place in the rankings. Reed, the other main contender, opened with a three-over 75.
The math McIlroy has to beat
The gap is the story. Chacarra came to Dubai 533.93 points ahead, and the tour says he could technically finish last this week and still end the season on top. McIlroy needs to finish solo fourth or better just to stay in the conversation, and in practice he needs Chacarra to fade at the same time.
Here is how the numbers stack up for the final 54 holes:
- The winner in Dubai collects 2,000 ranking points.
- McIlroy trails by 533.93, roughly a quarter of the winner’s haul, so a victory alone would erase the deficit only if Chacarra finishes well down the field.
- Chacarra, in a tie for 23rd after day one, can afford a quiet week; McIlroy, with only two players above him on the leaderboard, cannot.
Chacarra admitted a few strategic mistakes, singling out a bogey at the 13th, where the downgrain putting surface made it almost impossible to leave his approach putt close. “I know I need to do a couple of things better to be able to have a chance on Sunday, and that’s what I’m going to focus on,” he said.
Before the week began, the Spaniard had called his rival the favorite. “He has played that course a million times, and I only played it once,” Chacarra said after Abu Dhabi.
Why the Montgomerie mark matters
The season-long title, once known as the Order of Merit, comes with the Harry Vardon Trophy. Montgomerie’s eight titles have stood as the record for years, and McIlroy, already a three-time winner of this event on the Earth course, already has seven of his own. Chacarra, meanwhile, is chasing a place alongside Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm as a Spanish European No. 1, and is playing his 31st event of the year.
Golf’s crossover with screen entertainment has been a theme this week as well; our look at Owen Wilson’s Stick season 2 sending his character after a golf major covers the fictional side. For more from the tours, see the latest in Badiyaa’s sports coverage.
Who else is in the hunt
Luiten, the last man into the 50-player field, set the pace with a five-under 67, his lowest score on the Earth course since 2016. Jacob Skov Olesen sits one behind on four under, and McIlroy shares third with Victor Perez, Gregorio De Leo, Freddy Schott and Francesco Laporta.
Ten PGA Tour dual-membership cards are also at stake this week, which adds pressure throughout the field. Round two begins on Friday, and the title will be settled on Sunday, November 15.
Further reading
Image: Cem0030, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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