McIlroy leads Dubai Invitational after opening 66

Rory McIlroy opened his Dubai Invitational campaign with a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead after the first round at Dubai Creek Resort.

Starting on the 10th, the world No. 2 was close to an early eagle before moving to two under with a birdie at the 11th. A missed four-foot par putt at the 12th briefly slowed him, but he responded with birdies at 13 and 14, then added further gains at 17 and 18 to turn in front.

McIlroy extended his advantage with another birdie at the first—his seventh of the day and third in a row—before closing with one bogey and a string of pars to set the early clubhouse target at 66.

Connor Syme and David Puig sit one back at 4-under 67, each posting five birdies and one bogey.

Further behind, Matt Wallace produced the most volatile card of the day. He briefly surged to seven under with four straight birdies around the turn, but mixed an eagle, two more birdies, three bogeys and a double to finish 3-under, tied with Oliver Lindell, Ángel Ayora, Julien Guerrier and Antoine Rozner.

Play paused at 1:30pm local time for a minute’s silence in memory of the 40 victims of the Crans-Montana fire. Players, caddies and DP World Tour staff wore black ribbons as a mark of respect.

Photo – DPWT