Rory McIlroy trails by two in Dubai after first round

Ahead of the upcoming Dubai Desert Classic, the four-time major victor spent the past weekend on Abu Dhabi’s attractive Yas Links Golf Course, taking part in the Pro-Am tournament at the Abu Dhabi Golf Invitational.

Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello had a very good week to tie for second with another player I like, the Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, while England’s Andrew Johnston finished well a further shot behind. “I’m kind of starting to rekindle my love for putting again and the rest of the game has always been there, so I feel like I can still do something”. I’ve played every Qatar Masters, every Dubai Desert Classic since I came on Tour in 2001 and every outing in Abu Dhabi since 2006.

There has been something of a question mark raised about McIlroy’s form on the greens in recent times but he said it was now going in the right direction. “I think with the way the weather conditions are, it’s made the golf course quite tricky out there”.

McIlroy started his round on the par-4 10th, where he needed two swipes to escape a greenside bunker.

Rory McIlroy has not given up hope of achieving a lifelong ambition of going head-to-head with Tiger Woods in the closing stages of a major championship. “Long game was a little on and off, so I’ve been working some on that and happy with the way things are going and hopefully I can bring that into this week, too”, he said.

“And with the Ryder Cup coming up and the Olympics and everything else, it’s a big year”, added McIlroy, referring to golf’s greatest team event, where Europe takes on the United States over three days.

“I thought I did well, considering the start and having some of the shots I hit throughout the round”. “Leaving any tournament without a win is sort of disappointing, but you try to put a positive spin on it. I think as golfers, that’s what we usually do”. All in all it was a decent day, a decent score.

The five-time European Tour victor started with a birdie at the 10th and went two under with another at the 17th before turning on the style on on the front nine – his back nine. When I got myself out of position, I was able to get back in play and make pars. “I hit a lot of good shots but also a lot of bad shots, and got away with them”, he said.

I know that would have really boosted me if I were in the early stages of my career, and perhaps it has also contributed to the blossoming of South Africa’s best new talent, Branden Grace.