Joost Luiten entered the DP World Tour Championship as the final qualifier and ended its opening day at the top of the leaderboard after producing his best Earth Course round in a decade.
The Dutchman carded seven birdies in a five-under 67 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to lead Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen by one stroke.
Luiten, a six-time DP World Tour winner, surged ahead with a front-nine 31 containing five birdies. Consecutive bogeys on the 11th and 12th briefly interrupted his progress, but gains at the 13th and 18th restored his advantage.
Starting the week 56th in the Race to Dubai rankings, Luiten cannot win the season-long title. However, his opening round brought him into contention for one of the ten PGA Tour cards awarded through the rankings.
Olesen closed with a birdie for a four-under 68. The Dane, tenth in the season standings, must win the tournament to retain any possibility of claiming the Race to Dubai title.
Rory McIlroy opened with a 69 to share third place alongside Victor Perez, Gregorio De Leo, Freddy Schott and Francesco Laporta. The six-time Major champion made five birdies and two bogeys as he began his pursuit of a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai crown.
Rankings leader Eugenio Chacarra returned a level-par 72 after mixing four birdies with four bogeys.
Niklas Nørgaard provided another highlight by acing the par-three 13th, earning one million Emirates Skywards Miles.
Photo – DPWT
