A bad finish keeps Rahm away from the leaders in Dubai

He DP World Tour Championship Dubai, the last tournament of this circuit, started this Thursday with five Spanish participants. The initial round has left Adrián Otaegui, fifteenthas the most famous of them all, on a day where Jon Rahm He didn’t show his best golf and ended up five shots behind the leaders.

The French Julien Guerrier and Matthieu Pavon and the danish Nicolai Hojgaard They dominated the tournament after the first round after each winning by five strokes on the par 72 course. It was on a day where, of the Spaniards, only Otaegui, with -1, was able to drop to par. Jorge was stunned by this Campillo, Pablo Larrazábal and Jon Rahmfive shots behind the leaders on a day where Nacho Elvira He finished forty-eighth with a +5. Rory McIlroywho is the champion of the ‘Race to Dubai’, shares the position with Otaegui.

Guerrier, Pavon and Hojgaard They were the best performers on the first day of this final tournament. The two Frenchmen had an impeccable round of five birdies without a mistake, while Hojgaard reacted in the best possible way to an early bogey on the par three 4th hole. Between holes 7 and 15 he accumulated six birdies which earned him a share of the lead after the end of the first day. The three leaders surpassed three other players by one stroke, the Swede Jens Dantorp (six birdies and two bogeys), in Polish Adrian Meronk (an eagle on the par four 5th hole, four birdies and two bogeys) and the Frenchman Antoine Rozner (five birdies and one bogey), which is at -4.

The Spaniards did not do this, especially a Rahm that started something uncomfortable in the long game. Despite this, a nice bunker exit on the par five 2nd hole left him with the birdie. Since then, the Spaniard has been looking for greens, even without good putting positions. So, He hit a par four on the 8th hole that fouled off the tee into the rough and moments later cost him the first bogey of his round.

Rahm reacted immediatelyleaving the birdie given on the par four of the 9th and making another good putt on the par four of the 10th. He was unable to match them on the following holes, though saved some compromising situations until a complicated finish : he missed a couple meters for par on the par three 17th after going into the bunker earlier and He went into the water on the par five 18th, which he closed with a bogey.

In this way, Rahm signed a pair that earned him twenty-fourth place, shared with nine other players. Among them, a Jorge Campillo who recovered from a bad start, with three bogeys in his first four holes. He made a total of five birdies and as many bogeys in his total round, with plenty of ups and downs but with two birdies in the final five holes to save par for the field. It is also in that position Pablo Larrazabalwho made four birdies and two bogeys and reacted to a double bogey on the par four 5th hole that threatened to derail his round.

Slightly preceding, fifteenth, is Adrian Otaegui, with -1 the best Spanish of the day. He did it with three birdies and two bogeys, despite the fact that one of those mistakes came on a par five 18th hole that prevented him from winning the bigger prize. It is the one that had the best sensations of the day, in opposition to a Nacho Elvira who shares the forty-eighth and final position after a very difficult day with one birdie and six bogeys for a total of +5.

Beyond the leaders and the Spaniards, some of the tournament’s big names are well positioned on the opening day. Rory McIlroy, already the ‘Race to Dubai’ champion, is tied for fifteenth at -1 after a day of five birdies and four bogeys that went wrong midway through the round. Higher, seventh with -3 tied at Robert MacIntyre and with Tom Kimis found Tommy Fleetwood (seven birdies and four bogeys) and Victor Hovland (five birdies and two bogeys). This Friday, the second round of a tournament where the Spanish will try to take a step forward.

Classification after the first round (par 72)

1. Julien Guerrier (France) 67
1. Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark) 67
1. Matthieu Pavon (France) 67
4. Jens Dantorp (Sweden) 68
4. Adrian Meronk (Poland) 68
4. Antoine Rozner (France) 68
7. Tommy Fleetwood (England) 69
7. Viktor Hovland (Norway) 69
7. Tom Kim (South Korea) 69
7. Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) 69
…
15. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 71
15. Adrian Otaegui (Spain) 71
24. Jorge Campillo (Spain) 72
24. Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 72
24. Jon Rahm (Spain) 72
48. Nacho Elvira (Spain) 77