Former champions Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry set the pace on the opening day of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, both carding superb rounds of 64 to finish in a five-way tie for the lead.
The Ryder Cup duo, who were grouped together on Thursday, finished eight under par alongside Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand, South Africa’s Richard Sterne and French contender Adrien Saddier.
Fleetwood, the reigning FedExCup champion and now based in Dubai, produced a flawless round with eight birdies and no bogeys. Lowry, meanwhile, recorded nine birdies, dropping just one shot as the latest Rolex Series event began.
“I’m enjoying it,” said Dubai resident Fleetwood. “I think it’s a very good test. There’s a low score out there if you play well, but equally you still have to hit the ball and you still have to do the right things. Love that about the course. Just look forward to tomorrow. Different test tomorrow. See what we can do.”
Lowry added: “I was paired with him (Tommy) in India the first two days and I shot 64, as well. So yeah, something about me and Tommy. But no, I just like playing with him, your friend, and really good player, too, and you kind of feed off each other. It was nice.”
Saddier briefly moved to nine under after a run of nine birdies in his first 16 holes, but a bogey at the 17th saw him fall back into the group at the top.
Sterne, who finished runner-up to Lowry here in 2019, enjoyed a spectacular finish, carding two eagles including a 75-foot putt for three at the par-five 18th. Kobori signed for a bogey-free round featuring one eagle and six birdies.
“It’s a long week because obviously no cut so you want to try and keep yourself in the tournament,” said Sterne. “Obviously having a good first round is imperative, I think, to keeping you going and giving you some momentum heading into the next three rounds.”
Seven players sit one shot back on seven under, including Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira.
Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy and team mate Ludvig Åberg both opened with rounds of 68, with Åberg’s highlight a hole-in-one at the eighth. Marco Penge, McIlroy’s closest rival in the season-long standings, sits at five under.
Off the course, more than 1,000 school children joined the event as part of the tournament’s schools programme, taking part in tours, activities and golf learning sessions at Yas Links and the Championship Village.
Additionally, The R&A held a Golf in the Community Forum, bringing together major stakeholders to discuss opportunities for participation, health benefits and community development across the region, with representation from leading UAE sporting and golf organisations.