Willett gleans positives despite one-under

Dubai - Englishman locked in a tussle with Swedes Stenson andNoren for the Race to Dubai title

Danny Willett still gleaned a few positives despite shooting a round that he wouldn't have envisaged, on the opening day of the DP World Tour Championship.
The Englishman, who is locked in a tussle with Swedes Henrik Stenson and Alex Noren for the Race to Dubai title, shot a one-under 71 to be placed tied 24th with eight others, after the first round at the Earth Course of the Jumeirah Golf Estates on Thursday.
Willett needs to win the DP World Tour Championship if he harbours hopes of winning the prestigious Race to Dubai on the European Tour. And Willett believes one-under was still good enough platform, heading into the remaining three days.
"I played really good but missed a lot of good chances. But it was a very frustrating last five to six holes. I could have pushed myselg up there and shot something in the 60s, but some good signs, positive signs. I hit the ball well and rolled it good. There was just a couple little misreads on the last few. Obviously, this late in the day, they do get a little bit funky with the grain as it goes through the day, but 71 is not too bad of a score," Willett said after his round on Thursday.
Willett said that it would have been ideal to get off to a flyer but he would still take a one-under.
"Yeah, it's one of them, isn't it, the first day. It's always nice to get off to a flyer but if you keep kind of nosing on and shooting better each day up the leaderboard, and come Sunday, you're never going to be too far off," he said.
Willett said that the Earth Course was quite tricky on the day and tested most of the field. "There are a lot of flags that are tucked a long way back, the golf course played a long way. Yeah, I think you can see by the scoring, one of these rounds, someone is going to go out there and shoot 7-, 8-under par; I think the course record is 10. There are different days when the opportunities will arise, but I think with the direction the wind was in, you know, it obviously a few of the holes that are usually playing pretty short, are playing quite long. And like I said, they put the flags right on the back of them holes," said Willett.
"They must have had a hot summer; they have not been able to overseed the rough too much. The greens are a little bit softer than last year I would say, but again, I think there is a score out there, if you play similar golf to what we play today and just take all your chances," he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com