Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton and Paul Waring continued their strong form from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to emerge as the leading players after 18 holes at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy and Hatton, who placed second and third at Yas Links last week, share the lead at the summit of the leaderboard after each posted a round of 68 at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Close behind them in third is last week’s champion, Paul Waring, who is a member at this week’s host venue, just one stroke adrift.
Hatton became the first to reach five under par with a superb birdie on the penultimate hole, but McIlroy responded moments later, sinking an impressive 48-foot putt on the same hole to match Hatton’s score and share the lead on the Earth course.
“To be honest I feel like the score was better than it felt,” said Hatton.
“I felt I was tinkering over most tee shots and at times, I felt like my misses were bigger than perhaps they have been over the last month or so, month and a half.
“But at the end of the day, to shoot 5-under, you have to, I guess, play fairly solid golf. And in my head, I don't really know what that is. But here we are”
McIlroy's share of the lead tightens his hold on the Harry Vardon Trophy, awarded to the No. 1 player in the Race to Dubai Rankings.
It’s a two-horse race at the top of the standings, with the 35-year-old McIlroy enjoying a comfortable lead of 1,785.02 points over his closest rival, playing partner Thriston Lawrence, who opened with a one-over-par 73.
With 2,000 points up for grabs for the winner, McIlroy only needs a top-ten finish to clinch his sixth Race to Dubai title — a feat that would tie him with his father Gerry’s idol, the legendary Seve Ballesteros.
“I want to go on from here and win the golf tournament,” said McIlory.
“I've opened up with a really good score but I need to go out and play similarly over these next three days, not just to try to win the tournament but also to try to get the job done in the Race to Dubai.
“Yeah, I'm under no illusions that that was probably Thriston's worst day. If he goes out and has three good ones, I still need to go out there and play some very solid golf.”
Waring's victory last week may have surprised some, as it marked only his second DP World Tour win after the 2018 Nordea Masters.
But for those who saw it as a one-off, he silenced any doubters with a composed four-under-par 68 on his “home” course.
Following his victory in the capital, the Englishman’s pre-tournament routine took an unusual turn, filled with media appearances and even a Ryder Cup outfit fitting, as his performance catapulted him to fifth in the European team rankings.
Despite the energy-draining commitments, Waring started well with a tidy 68 to sit just one shot off the lead.
“I got off to a really good start,” said Waring.
“I think I was 4-under front nine. Obviously coming off of last week, being able to sort of come straight out of the blocks and get going again, I was really, I'm going to say impressed with myself.
“First time dealing for me with a lot of media sort of Tuesday and Wednesday, something that I'm not used to and something that hopefully I'll have to get used to, which is nice.
“But again, it takes time and energy and that sort of thing. It's my first time in a while dealing with so much that have stuff.
“So, to be able to separate that and get on the golf course Thursday afternoon and go again, I'm really happy I was able to reset and get back into that flow state.”
The DP World Tour Championship continues tomorrow with McIlory and Hatton last off at 12:45pm.
