Past champions Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were part of a five-way tie after the first round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after opening with stunning 64s.
The Ryder Cup stars, who played alongside each other on Thursday, shared the lead with New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, South African Richard Sterne and Frenchman Adrien Saddier on eight under par.
Related: Rory McIlroy awaits Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship cherry
Reigning FedExCup champion Fleetwood carded eight birdies and no bogeys, while Lowry fired nine birdies and dropped a single shot as the fourth Rolex Series event of the season got under way.
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Saddier briefly got to nine under in the afternoon after reeling off nine birdies over his first 16 holes but a bogey on the 17th saw him slip back into a share of the lead.
Sterne, who finished second behind winner Lowry at the 2019 edition of this event, made two eagles in his opening round and saved his best until last as he holed from 75 feet for a three on the par-five 18th. Kobori, meanwhile, made an eagle and six birdies in a flawless first-round effort.
There were seven players one shot further back, with Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira all producing 65s.
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Reigning Race to Dubai champion and current Rankings leader Rory McIlroy started the DP World Tour Play-Offs with a four under par 68, as did his Ryder Cup team mate, Ludvig Åberg, with the highlight of the Swede’s round his hole-in-one on the par-three eighth.
Marco Penge, McIlroy’s closest challenger in the season-long race is one shot better off, amongst the group on five under par.
Player Quotes
Tommy Fleetwood: Played well. Was very, very good off the tee and I think I made some good decisions off the tee. Felt very comfortable with the shots that I chose and I hit. You know, putted well. I think I made a big par save on 12 and followed that with a birdie, which was I think a crucial part of the round if it’s going to be a very, very good round.
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I’m enjoying it. I think it’s a very good test. There’s a low score out there if you play well, but equally you still have to hit the ball and you still have to do the right things. Love that about the course. Just look forward to tomorrow. Different test tomorrow. See what we can do.
Yeah, again very lucky. Very comfortable three ball. So close to both the guys, Ryder Cup teammates, played with Ras last week. It was great. Just you all go out there and you do your thing, and you’re just very comfortable in each other’s company.
