Dubai: Patrick Reed leads by a stroke ahead of Race to Dubai challenger Justin Rose after hitting a seven under par 65 in the opening round of the DP World Tour Championship on Thursday.
The 27-year-old American birdied his first two holes before returning with a further five birdies on the back nine in a blemish free round at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course.
This equals his best ever round at this venue, where he also shot a 65 in the second round of his only other appearance here back in 2015, where he eventually finished tied for 10th at 12 under for the tournament.
“It’s really all I can hope for to just keep playing solid golf to put myself in position,” he said. “I think the last time I shot 65 here it came on the second day, but the first round wasn’t the greatest.
“This time I got off to a better start, and hopefully I can continue, and improve every day, unlike the last time, so I should be all right.
“It seemed like I didn’t hot my tee shots particularly well but from there I was able to get the ball back in play. And that’s what you’ve got to do to shoot low numbers around any course.
“When you get in trouble you have to figure out how to get yourself out of it and capitalise on all the opportunities you have. I did that but still feel like I left two or three shots out there. But all in all, it’s a great start.”
A stroke behind Reed sits Rose, who is looking to overtake Tommy Fleetwood for the Race to Dubai this week and shot 66 to sit tied for second at six under par with Scott Hend.
“I have struggled around here in the past,” said Hend, who has previously never finished higher than 40th in two appearances at this event.
“I don’t know the reasons why, but it’s nice to put a good round in at the start and just go ahead for the next three days,” he said of shooting two birdies on his front nine, and another five before ending on a bogey on his return.
“Three days is a long way and this golf course can throw up anything,” he added. “I’m just going to go about doing my job and try to do the best I can. That’s all I can ask of myself.”
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick is a further stroke behind Rose and Hend in a six-man group who are all tied for fourth at five under, which also includes Alex Bjork, Alex Levy, Ryan Fox, Paul Dunne and Fabrizio Zanotti, who all opened with 67s.
