The Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, number 3 in the world and who is trying to equal Seve Ballesteros’ record of six wins in the final overall of the European circuit, shares the lead with the Englishman Tyrrell Hatton in the DP World Tour Championship, the closing tournament of the season that is played until Sunday at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
After scoring 67 strokes (5 under par) on the first day, McIlroy and Hatton, 18th in the ranking, are ahead of fellow Englishman Paul Waring by one stroke and by two over a group of seven players including the American Billy Horschel, the Australian Adam Scott and the Englishman Matt Wallace.
Rory McIlroy, leader of the DP World Tour ranking, delivered a card with six birdies for a single bogey, while Hatton started with seven birdies and two blurs.
Until this tournament ends, the Northern Irishman leads the circuit table with 4,997.7 points. Behind him, at 1,785.02, is the South African Thriston Lawrence, absent in Dubai. Next up is the Dane Rasmus Hojgaard (2,684), who started this Thursday with a round of 71 (-1); Horschel (2,480) and Waring (2,467.7).
With 2,000 points up for grabs, McIlroy only needs to finish in the top ten to secure his sixth career Race to Dubai crown, equaling legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros’ record.
The best Spaniard at the start was Nacho Elvira from Santander, author of a round of 70 (-2) with four birdies and two bogeys.
