Rory McIlroy enjoys greens to take lead in Abu Dhabi as Thomas struggles

This was one way for Rory McIlroy to divert unwanted attention away from his good friend Justin Thomas. Whereas pre-tournament discussion at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship surrounded a homophobic slur muttered by Thomas at a recent event in Hawaii, McIlroy took 18 holes to alter the narrative as an eight under par 64, his lowest score in Abu Dhabi, planted him atop the leaderboard.

It was easy to infer Thomas is still suffering the after-effects of his PGA Tour outburst as, playing alongside McIlroy, he slipped to a 73. McIlroy, in contrast, was imperious. “It was a lovely way to start the year,” he said. “It was probably the best I’ve putted these greens. I’ve shot some really good scores here but I holed some really good ones today. I’ve always struggled to read them here, but I got my eye in early and kept me going.

“I played quite a bit over the Christmas break and practiced quite a bit. I felt maybe as sharp as I’ve ever done coming into the start of the season. It’s paid off early.”

McIlroy had cause to rue a break from competitive golf after the Masters finished in November. He had found form during the latter half of 2020. Earlier, by his own admission, the four-time major champion had struggled with the absence of spectators and lack of time with his coach Michael Bannon. It seems no coincidence that Bannon – impressive, influential yet so understated – was in the Middle East to watch his pupil reel off four birdies in each nine.

“He came out and worked with me the week before Christmas,” McIlroy said. “So we have started to see a lot more of each other. Michael knows my swing better than anyone knows it, inside out. It’s great to have him here and it’s great that things are sort of slowly getting back to normal where I’ll be able to see him more regularly this year. I think that will really help.”

McIlroy has also taken advantage of Butch Harmon’s experience as a second set of eyes. Harmon, like McIlroy, is US-based. “The one thing I love about Butch is he’s worked with so many players. So if you’re trying to explain to him, ‘Look, I’m trying to do this or I’m trying to create that feeling’ then with the database of players that he’s worked with over the years, he could say, ‘Well, Freddie Couples felt this or Tiger did this or DJ felt that.’ It’s nice to have that reference.”

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Two eagles helped Tyrrell Hatton to a 65. Lee Westwood, the defending champion, signed for a 69. Westwood was the third member of the McIlroy-Thomas group. “Not only do they hit it a long way but they hit it a long way straight,” Westwood said. “There should be an advantage to that. They are both great drivers of the ball and fun to watch.”

source: theguardian.com