ABU DHABI: English golfer Tommy Fleetwood carded course record-equalling 10 under par 62 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Championship is the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs and penultimate event of the 2024 Race to Dubai.
Fleetwood, already a two-time winner of this tournament after claiming back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018, carded eight birdies and an eagle on a low-scoring day at Yas Links to finish one stroke ahead of former Ryder Cup teammate Thorbjorn Olesen and America’s Johannes Veerman.
The 33-year-old, a seven-time DP World Tour winner, was four under after only three holes with a birdie, eagle, birdie start, and he made six further gains as he signed for a bogey-free round, rolling in a final birdie at the last to take the outright lead.
“Just happy to have got off to a great start. I didn’t feel like I swung it perfectly early on and I actually felt like I started playing better as the round got to the back nine,” Fleetwood said.
The wind picked up a little bit, the Englishman said, but overall it was fairly calm. “I think the course, fairways, are playing fast,” he said.
Fleetwood also has an eye on a second Race to Dubai title because he started the week in fifth place on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
A strong performance in Abu Dhabi would give him an outside chance of catching current rankings leader Rory McIlroy at next week’s DP World Tour Championship.
Denmark’s Olesen is seeking a second Rolex Series victory this week to follow from his 2018 Italian Open success. He won his eighth DP World Tour title earlier this year in the UAE, landing the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January.
Olesen said: “With the conditions of the greens, if you putted really well, you can make a lot of putts. I’m very happy with that. There’s not that much breeze out there, so it definitely feels hot. I think maybe I’m a bit more used to it now after being out here for a couple of years.”
Moreover, Veerman, who won his maiden title at the 2021 D+D REAL Czech Masters, earned his place in the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs after finishing T8, T14 and T14 in his previous three starts. He carded eight birdies and an eagle to join Olesen on nine under par.
Veerman said: “It went just about as good as I would have hoped, maybe even better. I got off to a really fast start. The conditions on this course are pure so you’re never going to have a bad lie.”
Four-time Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton shares fourth on eight under with fellow Englishmen Laurie Canter and Paul Waring and Italy’s Francesco Laporta.
McIlroy carded a five under par 67 to finish the day in a share of 18th place. The Northern Irishman will win the Race to Dubai for a sixth time if he finishes more than 2,000 ranking points ahead of his nearest challenger after this event.
“It’s nice to be paired with Thriston (Lawrence) and Rasmus (Hojgaard) because you can sort of keep an eye on what they are doing, as well. It’s been a really good year, very, very consistent,” he said.
Fleetwood goes low to lead Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
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Fleetwood goes low to lead Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
- The golf tournament is the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs
- ‘I didn’t feel like I swung it perfectly early on and I actually felt like I started playing better as the round got to the back nine,’ Fleetwood said
Maresca ‘relaxed’ about Chelsea’s rough patch
- Chelsea boss Maresca was Friday named Premier League manager of the month for November
- “For us November was fantastic. December, we didn’t start in the way we would like, even if it’s just one week ago we played Leeds, ” Maresca said
LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he was “completely relaxed” about his side’s dip in form as he seeks greater consistency ahead of Saturday’s home match against Everton.
The Blues thumped Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League on November 25 and earned an impressive 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal days later.
But they have not won since, losing at Leeds and Atalanta and drawing with Bournemouth.
Chelsea boss Maresca was Friday named Premier League manager of the month for November, in recognition of his side’s unbeaten record.
“We are in December now,” he said, laughing, at his press conference.
“This kind of thing is because you do the right things in terms of performance and results,” he added.
“For us November was fantastic. December, we didn’t start in the way we would like, even if it’s just one week ago we played Leeds (a 3-1 defeat on December 3).
“So it’s just three games in a row in one week that we didn’t get the results that we expect but we are now focused on the next one.”
Chelsea, who won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup last season, are fifth in the Premier League, eight points behind Arsenal.
Maresca said he was relaxed about Chelsea’s mini-slump.
“It’s football, it’s completely normal,” he said. “I understand most of the time we are always looking for problems or things we need to solve.
“The Leeds game was last Wednesday, eight or nine days ago. We are not going to change our season because we didn’t get the points that we expect.
“But I’m completely relaxed, I’m completely OK because I’m sure that at the end of the season we’re going to be where we have to be.”
The Italian admitted that improving consistency was the next step for his young squad.
“In terms of human beings, it’s impossible to be all season at the same level but for sure probably we need to learn things and to avoid that in the future,” he said.
Maresca said forward Cole Palmer should be available to face Everton after missing Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat by Atalanta.
