20 November 2009
Allenby charged into the lead with five birdies in the back nine including the 16th and 18th holes to overhaul club house leader England’s Chris Wood, Camilio Villegas of Colombia and contender for the Race to Dubai title Lee Westwood who were one stroke behind in second position.
Dubai Desert Classic winner and leader of the rebranded European Order of Merit title Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was a further three shots back despite a battling back nine of 32. The other two contenders for the inaugural Race to Dubai title Germany’s Martin Kaymer and England’s Ross Fisher showed indifferent form hitting three bogeys apiece to lag behind the front runners.
“I hit the ball very well tee to green. I think I only missed one green, which was 17,” said Allenby, 38, returning as a full member of the European Tour after playing for 11 years in the US PGA. Joint second with Tiger Woods in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Allenby expressed his delight with the sparkling Earth course. “I love the way the bunkering is. These greens, they are pretty severe in some spots, but very fair. And they do give you great opportunities if you hit great shots. I think it’s a great design,” said the course record holder in perfect conditions for golf.
However, it was Wood, 21, who tamed the fabled ‘Green Mile’ set up by the Great White Shark with consecutive birdies in the final four holes. “I didn’t really play that well the first sort of 14 holes and it was good to turn the day around,” said Wood modestly after taking the clubhouse lead. Returning after a three-week break because of an ankle injury, Wood, 28, acknowledged that it was a course for big hitters. “With the size of the greens and the slopes, it helps to go in with as short a club as you can,” he said.
Villegas, who rose to seventh in the world rankings last year, enjoyed his opening round and travelling overnight for some five tournaments within a month. “I felt pretty comfortable out there and hit the ball great. I avoided the cross bunkers which are always trouble. Even though I missed two or three putts inside eight feet for birdie, I think I managed to read the greens good,” said the 27 year-old Colombian after his bogey free round.
Westwood outshone his young partner McIlroy by taking a two-stroke lead over his rival for the $1.5 million Race to Dubai bonus prize. “The only blemish on 14 where I thought I was really unlucky and I could quite easily sat here with a 64,” said the 36-year-old Englishman, winner of the Portugal Masters this season. “What Rory is doing didn’t really have any effect on the way I was thinking. I’m here to try and win this golf tournament,” said Westwood when asked whether it felt like a matchplay contest at any stage after firing five birdies in an inspired back nine 32.
“I think it was a very good first day for both myself and Lee, playing together. We both got off to pretty slow starts and then played great golf on the back nine to pick things up,” said McIlroy who had to wriggle his way out of sand traps on many occasions.
However, the 20-year-old who is set to switch to the US PGA next season, said all is not lost though the pressure was intense. “I think the intensity levels this week have been raised a little bit, just because there is so much to play for, especially to be the first person to become the champion of the Race to Dubai,” said McIlroy who is among the 58 players vying for a total prize money of $7.5 million in the first ever Dubai World Championship.
