Rory McIlroy made a powerful begin to 2026 as he shot a five-under 66 within the first spherical of the Dubai Invitational.
McIlroy was making his first begin of the yr following an unimaginable 2025 the place he gained The Masters to finish the profession Grand Slam and performed a key function in Crew Europe’s away Ryder Cup win.
The 36-year-old was runner-up on the solely earlier Dubai Invitational in 2024 and is effectively positioned to go one higher this week.
McIlroy almost made an distinctive begin as he was a whisker away from an eagle however settled for back-to-back birdies, then made two extra on the thirteenth and 14th after beginning on the again 9.
Three extra birdies adopted earlier than he made the flip however he was unable to supply the identical alternatives on the entrance 9 with only one birdie to open earlier than making par for the remainder of the spherical, other than a blip on the third the place he bogeyed.
“It was good. I got off to a great start,” mentioned McIlroy, who’s the present Race to Dubai champion.
“I performed an excellent first 9. The wind received up somewhat bit and it felt like that entrance 9 was the trickier one.
“I made a silly bogey on three and didn’t capitalise on the par-five after that, so I felt like I left a few on that side. But I played a really good nine holes of golf going out. Overall, a nice way to start the year.”
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