DUBAI: Lee Westwood made light of his regular caddie’s absence to post a six under par 66 and lead the DP World Tour Championship by one shot on Thursday as Rory McIlroy struggled.
The Englishman’s long-time bagman Billy Foster has been advised to rest his injured knee, but that did not affect the world 47, who is looking for his first win of the year.
He started the opening round with three birdies on the front nine, and made another four on the back along with a bogey on the 12th hole.
Julien Quesne of France and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were a stroke behind the inaugural 2009 champion at Dubai’s Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates.
“Billy normally thinks for me,” said Westwood. “I probably have to do more this week, think a little bit more, which is probably a good thing,” added Westwood when asked about having someone new on his bag.
“Obviously a different caddie doesn’t know my game. He’s only had one round on the bag. He’s sort of making it up as he goes along.
“I have full confidence in him, and his yardages and the way he reads the wind and stuff like that. Put my game to his information.”
Spain’s Sergio Garcia made a late double bogey, on the par-4 16th hole, to fall to four-under par 68, tied fourth alongside Joost Luiten and Francesco Molinari.
With none of the four players contesting the Race to Dubai crown managing to get a fast start, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson remained the favorite despite a poor round of 72 by his standards.
But world No2 McIlroy had an even bigger shocker, recording his first over-par round in the tournament, a three-over 75.
Danny Willett, who needs to finish inside the top-5 to have any chance of beating Stenson to the European No1 honor, shot a one-under par 71, which matched Alex Noren’s effort.
Willet and Noren are ranked second and third in the Race to Dubai at the start of the final week of the European Tour season.
Stenson, who made just one birdie and one bogey, said: “You know, the couple of good putts didn’t go in, and of course, the bad ones normally don’t find the bottom of the cup.
“I stayed out of trouble most of the day but nothing too exciting either to play or to watch. Hopefully, I can turn that around and play a better round tomorrow.”
McIlroy, who made three birdies and a double bogey in his last five holes, did not speak to the media. He was whisked away for random dope test following the round.
Westwood meanwhile was delighted with the way he played in tough scoring conditions on a day when only 32 players managed to break par.
“This is as good as I’ve played for quite some time. I’ve found a couple of keys in different parts of my game and I’ve been working on them hard. All came together today.”
Westwood leads in Dubai, McIlroy struggles
Westwood leads in Dubai, McIlroy struggles
Lee, Hellgren, Kim secure 2026 LIV Golf wild cards
- Canada’s Richard T. Lee claims victory at Black Diamond Ranch in Florida
LECANTO: A dominant performance by Richard T. Lee of Canada. A clutch low round for Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren. And an inspirational return for American Anthony Kim.
All three players had reason to celebrate at Black Diamond Ranch on Sunday afternoon after securing the three wild card spots available through this week’s LIV Golf Promotions. The trio joins International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji as the five wild cards who will compete in the 13 regular season tournaments during the 2026 LIV Golf League season, which opens in Riyadh on Feb. 4-7.
While Lee and Hellgren will make their LIV Golf debuts in Saudi Arabia, Kim returns for his third season as a wild card player. He came out of a 12-year retirement from professional golf to join LIV Golf in 2024 but was relegated after last season. Earning a spot for 2026 reflects the considerable progress he has made in recent months.
“There were definitely low moments throughout those two years,” Kim said. “But I believe in myself more than anybody else believes in me, and I think that’s all that matters. I felt like I would earn my spot back if I did get relegated, which I did. I felt like if I just kept my foot on the gas and just kept grinding that great things were going to happen.”
Lee, meanwhile, completed an impressive weeklong effort with a final-round 5-under 65, leaving him at 11 under for the 36-hole weekend shootout for a five-shot victory over Hellgren, his nearest competitor.
The 35-year-old becomes the first Canadian to earn a spot on LIV Golf and he did it in style, shooting rounds of 64, 66, 64 and 65 over the four days, including the first two 18-hole knockout rounds that whittled the initial field of 78 players down to the 22 competing this weekend.
“It’s not sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Lee, who suffered just two bogeys all week, one of those coming late on Sunday when he already had a spot wrapped up. “Twenty-one under on this course is absolutely amazing. I’m very pleased with my game right now.”
Hellgren shot an even-par 70 on Saturday, leaving him outside the top 10 on Sunday. The 35-year-old, who won the Saudi Open presented by PIF last month, had to play aggressively to make up strokes.
He opened with consecutive birdies and overcame a couple of bogeys midway through his round, finishing it off with four birdies in his final six holes to shoot a 6-under 64, matching the course record set by Lee earlier in the week.
“Starting the day, we knew what we had to do,” Hellgren said. “We had to shoot a low one today. We had to basically go all in.”
Kim was in better shape to start the day, in the primary chase pack after shooting a 66 on Saturday. Through 10 holes on Sunday, he was even par for the day and in a three-way tie for the third and final spot with two Thailand golfers, Jazz Janewattananond and Sarit Suwannarut.
Kim then birdied the par-4 11th with a 20-foot putt to create separation, then battled hard to maintain it. The par-4 14th was a key moment, as he twice overcame tricky lies near bunkers, eventually saving par with a 15-foot putt. By the time he reached the 18th hole, he was three shots clear of fourth place and could afford a final bogey.
“Felt like if I made that putt, it could really swing the momentum,” Kim said of the 14th. “I beared down and holed it.”
Lee and Hellgren are both looking forward to the step up in competition with LIV Golf, with a field that includes champions such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others.
“Definitely have to hit it longer to keep up with those guys and maybe get my short game a little bit sharper,” Lee said.
“Obviously this is going to change our life, for my family,” Hellgren added. “But it’s still just a tournament, and I’m sure I’ll be going to Riyadh to try to win because I like the feeling of winning.”
Kim, meanwhile, is glad just to have another season on LIV Golf. Sunday’s outcome was arguably the biggest moment of his two-year return to the sport.
“There’s a ton of satisfaction,” Kim said at the end of his press conference. “I’m sure I’ll understand that all that work has really shown this week, maybe later tonight when I’m drinking an iced tea. It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors told me that I potentially had two weeks to live. So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”
