Overview
- Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry shot matching 8-under 64s at Yas Links to share the first-round lead with Richard Sterne, Adrien Saddier and Kazuma Kobori.
- Rory McIlroy opened with a 4-under 68, four shots back, as he looks to protect his Race to Dubai lead entering next week’s season finale.
- Ludvig Åberg made a hole-in-one at the par-3 eighth and finished on 4-under alongside McIlroy after his opening round.
- Marco Penge, McIlroy’s nearest challenger in the season-long standings, carded a 67 to sit one shot ahead of the Northern Irishman.
- The event features the top 70 with only the top 50 advancing to the DP World Tour Championship, while several stars are absent this week including Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka.