Rory, Willett sizzle

Dubai - Race to Dubai front-running duo finish neck-and-neck

There's very little to separate Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett in the Race to Dubai (RTD) standings, so it's perhaps hardly surprising they couldn't be split following the opening 18 holes here at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The front-running Northern Irishman and his English adversary teed off together as the last pairing at 12:40pm on Thursday afternoon with only the paltry sum of ?1,613 between them on the continental circuit's money list rankings.
Both men reached the turn for home on a two-under 34, with McIlroy birdieing the second and sixth holes and Willett duly responding on the fifth and seventh.
World number three McIlroy then bogeyed the 10th, but two birdies in succession over the next two holes - to Willett's one - brought it back to level pegging approaching the 13th.
Willett's 'luck' was out there as he too coughed up a costly bogey, although he responded to that setback in much the same manner that McIlroy did with an birdie at the very next hole to immediately rectify the damage. The following three holes (15th to 17th) passed without incident as the two players seemed set to be closing in on three-under par (69) scores respectively.
Nonetheless, there was to be late drama as Willett made the most of an advantageous par-five at the last to chalk up a birdie and McIlroy did likewise, albeit via the rather unconventional route of the sandy bunkers. Willett also conceded that he'd fallen some way short of his optimum level on day one, but there were few complaints from him after finishing two shots off of the overnight leaders.
Of the five other RTD contenders, South African Branden Grace also carded a four-under par 68, while Byeong Hun An (70), of South Korea, and England's Justin Rose (71) are slightly further back in the field on two and one under respectively. Meanwhile, two-time defending champion Henrik Stenson saw his hopes of an unprecedented three-peat at this year's DP World Tour Championship all but disappear with a five-over par 77.
alex@khaleejtimes.com