Shane Lowry had it pretty much all his own way as he fired nine birdies in an opening round of 64 to share the lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.
Lowry is tied at the top with Tommy Fleetwood, Richard Sterne, Adrien Saddier and Kazuma Kobori on eight-under-par as he chases his second title in this event and first at Yas Links.
“It was nice, I was pretty excited when I saw my group, played lovely with the two boys. Played pretty well in the pro-am so was confident coming in and it was nice to play well,” said Lowry who is chasing a first win since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship and felt very comfortable again being paired with Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Rasmus Hojgaard.
“I was paired with him in India and shot 64 the first day as well, something about me and Tommy!”
The Offaly man took advantage of the generous start with back to back birdies to open his round before turning with birdies on the seventh and ninth.
His only blemish came on the 12th when he missed a short par putt but that was sandwiched between birdies on 10, 11, 13 and 14. He rolled in a nice six-footer on the last for birdie to tie the lead and he was pleased with how he performed on the greens.
“I rolled the ball well on the greens, missed one short putt for par which was tricky. Hit my irons great and gave myself a lot of chances, I holed the putts I should have today.”
Lowry won this event in 2019, holding off Sterne in the process but despite being in the final group after 54 holes in the last three years, he is yet to post a top-10 at Yas Links.
“First three days here I have been in the final group on Sunday, I watched Paul Waring win here last year, I watched Thomas Pieters win. I just like the place, I see my way around here pretty well and hopefully I can put four rounds together this week.”
While Lowry felt he put his best foot forward on the greens, Fleetwood felt he laid the foundations for his bogey-free 64 with the new Taylormade Qi4D driver.
“Was very good off the tee,” said Fleetwood who opened with a 62 here last year. “Made some very good decisions and felt very comfortable with the shots that I chose and I hit. Putted well, made a big par save on 12 and followed it with a birdie which was a crucial part of the round if it was to be a very good round.
“I’m very happy, it’s Thursday you can’t win it but eight-under is a very nice way to start.”
South African Sterne, who was runner-up to Lowry in 2019 rolled back the years with a 64 of his own in the first group of the day.
The 44-year-old appeared in the first edition of the tournament in 2006 and he has had a rollercoaster career, winning six times in a career that has been plagued by injuries.
After a slow start to the season he booked his spot at the DP World Tour playoffs late in the year but is eager to capitalise.
“It’s kind of special,” he said of being the only player to have played this event in 2006 and 2025.
“I think I’m probably the oldest player in the field as well. I used to be one of the youngest and now I’m one of the oldest so things change, I’ve been trying to adapt to the changes.
“I’ve had a lot of issues over the last few years with injuries and operations and procedures and it’s taken a lot longer than I would have liked but it seems to be on the up.
“I had a hip operation, I’ve had three wrist surgeries, I’ve got a titanium disc in my lower back. I’ve had some big operations and it was tough to come back and I‘ve still got to put a lot of effort in to keep playing.
“I don’t think they were very positive that I’d be able to compete when I had the back surgery. To get back to this level is something that hasn’t been tested too often, I think there’s only one or two players with it that are still playing.
“I put in hard effort in the gym for 18 months just to get back here and thank goodness that I did.
“The Dunhill gave me a lot of confidence, I played well and I putted decently and I could compete. As long as I feel like I can still compete out here when I’m playing close to my best then that gives me a good feeling. You don’t want to come out here and just make up the numbers and finish 30th or 40th if you’re playing well.”
Rory McIlroy shares 27th place on four-under after a cold putter kept him four shots off the pace while Tom McKibbin came back down to earth after his Hong Kong Open triumph with a three-over 75.
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