Good start for Adri Arnaus (4th) at the World Cup in Dubai

Nice Catalan card Adri Arnaus, 67 strokes (-5) on the first day of dubai worldwhich closes the official season of Touring Europe. Arnaus, 29th in the Race (he needs to stay in the top 30 on Sunday to earn an exemption for the Hoylake British Open in 2023), is two strokes behind the leaders, the British Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick. Jon Rahm put his trade and patience here and signed 70 shots: as soon as the day started he got an eagle on his card but then he was a little irregular.

Fitzpatrick’s good start contrasted with the problems of Rory McIlroy and Ryan Fox in the fight for the former European Order of Merit. Fitzpatrick birdied his first five holes and finished with his lowest round on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Estates, where he has won twice. The US Open champion is tied for the lead with Tyrrell Hatton.

McIlroy leads the Race to Dubai standings as he bids to become the best player on the European circuit for the fourth time in his career and the second FedEx Cup and Race ‘double’ since Henrik Stenson. After three putting for bogey on the 16th, McIlroy (71) needed a birdie on the 18th hole to be under par for 22nd. Ryan Fox, who is second in the points standings behind McIlroy, finished with a 73. to tie for 33rd place.

Fitzpatrick will clinch his first Race to Dubai with a third World Tour Championship win, if neither McIlroy nor Fox finish the event in second place. Even a second-place finish was good enough for Fitzpatrick as long as McIlroy couldn’t finish lower than seventh.

Matt said he played through “a lot of sore throats” as McIlroy birdied four of his first eight holes but couldn’t make it on the back nine. “It’s definitely not what I expected,” McIlroy said. “I’ve had three weeks off since the CJ Cup so I’m trying to knock the rust off a bit,” he added.

Rory’s last Race to Dubai title was in 2015, having also won in 2012 and 2014. Four other players –Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and Adrian Meronk– there are also chances to overtake McIlroy in the standings. Of those, Fleetwood had the best opening round with a 68.

Arnaus is currently in fourth position, but still has a way to go to secure that top 30 finish in the Race to Dubai which gives the British access to next year’s Royal Liverpool. Right now, the projection puts him at a solid 21st place.

Also a good start for Pablo Larrazábal (-3), accurate with the driver and the putt. Top 10 to start with. And Jon Rahm (-2) saved the day. He overshot off the tee, or at least more than usual for him, and had to recover more times than usual, but he still managed to hit 70 shots.

Classification on the first day (par 72):

65 Matthew Fitzpatrick (GBR)

Tyrrell Hatton (GBR)

66 Alex Noren (Sue)

67 Adri Arnaus (Span)

68 Tommy Fleetwood (GBR)

…

69 Pablo Larrazábal (Span)

70 Adrian Meronk (Pol)

Jon Rahm (Span)

71 Jorge Campillo (Span)

Rory McIlroy (GBR)

Adrian Otaegui (Span)

73 Ryan Fox (NZL)

Shane Lowry (Irl)

74 Viktor Hovland (North)

75 Rafael Cabrera (Span)