ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Nice, but unimaginable.
That was Rory McIlroy’s view of his new swing, which he tested for the first time competitively when he shot a 5-under 67 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday.
It left No. 3-ranked McIlroy five shots off the lead held by fellow Ryder Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood in the first event of the European Tour playoffs.
Looking for a victory that would clinch the title for the sixth consecutive year of the Race to Dubai, McIlroy returned to the tournament after a month away — most of which he spent locked in a studio hitting balls on a screen in search of a strong swing that would hold. up in stressful times.
McIlroy didn’t make too many mistakes in his first round, other than pushing his tee shot on the par-3 17th and failing to get up and down for par. That was his only bogey, as he made six birdies, including a bogey at the last.
“I felt good,” McIlroy said, looking displeased. “I was relieved to do this little practice before I put the club back. It felt good. I probably wasn’t thinking this way. I was hitting straight shots.
“I hit a couple where I didn’t see the picture of what I was trying to do with the flight of the ball because I was thinking too much about what I was doing with the swing.”
McIlroy said the lack of wind and the size of the fairways at Yas Links made his job easier and allowed him to focus on his modified swing.
“I’m lucky that it’s a good week to come back,” he said.
Fleetwood, the highest-ranked player in a reduced field of 70 players at No. 10, he was more in the area, making eight birdies to go with an eagle on the 5th hole for a bogey-free round of 10-under 62. The Englishman took the lead for the first time by rolling in a birdie putt from 10 meters on No. 18.
Fleetwood was beaten by Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark and Johannes Veerman of the United States, with LIV Golf’s Tyrrell Hatton in fourth place after shooting 64 with Laurie Canter, Paul Waring and Francesco Laporta.
McIlroy, who was tied for 18th place, leads the Race to Dubai standings and could win what was once the Order of Merit title with an eventual victory in Abu Dhabi. That will remove doubt from the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.
He finished the season as the European No. 1 five times and could tie the late Seve Ballesteros for sixth. Colin Montgomerie has the record eight.
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