McIlroy happy with how his swing held up on day one in Abu Dhabi

Mark McGowan
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Rory McIlroy playing his approach on the 2nd hole at Yas Links (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Mark McGowan

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Rory McIlroy’s quest to land a sixth European Tour Order of Merit title – the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai – and the accompanying Harry Vardon Trophy is off to a solid start as the four-time major winner shot an opening five-under 67 at in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

McIlroy admitted prior to the event that he’d effectively locked himself in a swing studio for three weeks following a rather abject performance at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, and he’d been working on technical flaws in his swing. This meant that he wasn’t quite sure where his game would be at when he got back in competition mode.

But six birdies and a solitary bogey should be evidence enough that he’s on the right track, even if the relative lack of wind meant that the golf course’s teeth were largely blunted; a fact further backed up by low scoring throughout with Tommy Fleetwood’s 10-under 62 the best of the bunch.

McIlroy reached the turn at -3 thanks to birdies on two, eight and nine – the first a two-putt on a par-5 having watched his 20-footer for eagle burn the edge, the latter two coming on a par-3 and a par-4 after excellent iron approaches to short range.

Further birdies came on the par-5 11th and par-4 14th, before his only dropped shot on the day after missing the green an a 14-footer on the par-3 17th. He picked up that shot again at the par-5 last, crushing a 353-yard drive up the narrow side and two-putted from 60 feet.

“Yeah, it felt okay,” he replied when asked how his slightly remodeled swing had felt. “Yeah, sort of gotten comfortable with doing this little rehearsal before I take the club back. Yeah, it felt fine.

“Yeah, I probably wasn’t as imaginative out there or I was sort of hitting very straight shots and I hit a couple where I didn’t really see the picture of what I was trying to do with the ball flight because I was thinking too much on what I was doing with the swing.

“Overall, I’m quite fortunate that it’s a nice week to come back because there’s not too much wind. It’s pretty wide off the tee. So I feel like I can concentrate a little bit more on what I’m trying to do with the motion. Yeah, overall it felt pretty good today.”

A tournament win would seal the Race to Dubai title, putting him level with Seve Ballesteros on six and with only Colin Montgomerie ahead on eight and playing alongside his two closest challengers in Thriston Lawrence and Rasmus Højgaard, he wasn’t left wondering how his competitors were doing.

“Yeah, you know, I know that if I have a really good week this week, it makes my job a lot easier next week,” he said. “Honestly it’s nice to be paired with Thriston and Rasmus because you can sort of keep an eye on what they are doing, as well.

“But yeah, it’s been a really good year, very, very consistent. Started well with the win in Dubai and I’ve let a couple slip away as well. But I’ve had a great deal of consistency, and that’s the reason that I find myself in the place that I am. And I wanted to come here to the Middle East these two weeks and finish the season off the way I felt it deserves to be finished off.”

Having won a total of six times in the Middle East, albeit in neighbouring Dubai – four Dubai Desert Classics and two DP World Tour Championships – he’s in a comfortable environment and one that he used to live in, so it comes as no surprise to him that it often brings out the best in his game as well.

“I’ve been coming here for a long time. I think I played my first Dubai Desert Classic 18 years ago at this point, nearly 19 years ago,” he explained.

“It’s a place I’m very, very comfortable with. I have a lot of friends here. I’ve lived in the region for four years. So it feels a bit like a second home to me.

“So it’s always nice to get back, and very familiar with the surroundings and when you are that way, you know, it seems to produce some good golf for me.”

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