Woods Well Back After One
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Rory McIlroy shot a 7-under 65 Thursday to take the lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, four shots better than Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer and six ahead of Tiger Woods.
McIlroy, whose only European Tour win came in Dubai two years ago, had eight birdies to go with one bogey at the Emirates Golf Club.
Woods shot a 71 and struggled early in the day, twice going to 2 over. But he eagled the 18th hole after hitting a 3-wood about 250 yards to the green
McIlroy turns up heat at Dubai Desert Classic
Tiger Woods closed with a spectacular eagle, but was still outshone by 21-year-old Rory McIlroy and outscored by Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer in Dubai at the Omega Desert Classic.
McIlroy, whose only European Tour victory so far came on the same Emirates course two years ago, began the event with a seven-under-par 65 to be two ahead of a back-to-form Sergio Garcia and Thomas Aiken.
Woods, without a win for almost 15 months, was struggling down at one over with one to play, but hit his second to the 564-yard last over the lake to within five feet of the flag.
Dubai Desert Classic: Tiger Woods struggles while Rory McIlroy provides star turn
He started with a bogey and finished with an eagle. That was the story of Tiger Woods’s day; bad stuff softened by nuggets of gold. Woods is still capable of wondrous things, but rarely these days over consecutive holes.
By Kevin Garside
For that at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic we had to look to Rory McIlroy, who dismantled a tough course with the kind of precise rigour Woods displayed a decade ago. The 21 year-old Ulsterman had his maiden victory at this event two years ago. His 65, which included five consecutive birdies around the turn, left him two clear of Sergio Garcia.
While McIlroy was letting rip with conviction, Woods was dicing the contents of a mind stacked with maddening swing thoughts and technical considerations, which from time to time crowd in on him. His wedge from 80 yards on the 17th sailed 40 feet past the pin. “That was awful,” he said. On the last he flushed a three-wood more than 250 yards to five feet to set up his grand finale
Must-attend Dubai Desert Classic
The 22nd annual Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament, which kicks off on February 8 has already confirmed a star-studded line-up, which includes the current champion from Spain, Miguel Angel Jimenez, some of the world’s top players from the European Tour and, of course, Tiger Woods from the US.
In a statement released by tournament promoters, Woods said that he wants to win back the title he once held back in 2008, adding that the quality field would force him to play his best game.
Rory McIlroy Off To Flyer in 2011 Dubai Desert Classic
Rory McIlroy has just completed a first round 65 to top the leaderboard after the morning session of the Dubai Desert Classic 2011. As he said himself after he “got away with a few drives” and still made birdies. The only blemish in a round of 8 birdies was a dropped shot at the seventh, his 16th. The “big three” of Woods, Westwood and Kaymer are just underway
Source : http://izzhy.blogspot.com/2011/02/dubai-desert-classic.html
