Shane Lowry got off to a solid start but Rory McIlroy struggled in the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Entering off the back of a brutal disappointment on the 72nd at the Dubai Creek Resort last weekend, Lowry reacted well on Thursday with a two-under par 70 start on a tricky day for scoring at Emirates GC.
Beginning on the 10th, Lowry opened and closed his outward nine with birdies on par fives, in between draining a 17-footer for birdie on the par-four 14th but dropping strokes on the 12th, following a wayward approach, and the 16th, after a loose tee shot.
He reached two-under for the first time after getting up and down from the greenside bunker on the par-five third but immediately gave the stroke back after three-putting the short fourth hole.
He found himself in an odd position at the fifth, a wild tee shot sending his ball bounding down the cart path, leaving himself with an unorthodox shot less than 100 yards away at a 450 yard par-four. He clipped a wedge to 11 feet, setting up a birdie chance which slid by.
However, he made no mistake on the eighth, finding the heart of the green from a bunker left of the fairway and sinking the 24-footer for birdie.
Shane doing Shane things 😍#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/FXnKif2Q0e
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 22, 2026
He currently sits tied-eighth as the morning wave of players conclude, four shots adrift of the lead currently held by 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari, who rattled in six birdies in seven holes in a hot streak between the seventh and 14th.
McIlroy, however, got off to a less impessive start. The Masters champion, a record four-time winner of the event, which he last won in 2024, laboured to a one-over par 73 to sit well back in the pack on Day 1.
In particular, his round was blighted by a double-bogey seven at the 18th – his ninth – McIlroy having seemingly taken the water out of the equation by laying up from the rough. From less than a 100 yards, he attacked the front pin, the ball pitching short and tumbling back into the water.
The resulting double-bogey left him at two-over at the turn.
Birdies at the par-five third and the sixth – the latter after a stunning approach to gimme range – brought him back to even par. But an errant tee shot on the short seventh hole cost him another dropped stroke, and he failed to capitalise on a birdie chance at the ninth, sending a six-foot putt charging through the break.
Rory McIlroy nearly holes out for eagle at the 6th! 🎯#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/TQt65NoaSZ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 22, 2026
His playing partners, defending champion Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood, carded rounds of 70 and 73 respectively.
Both Padraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin have commenced their rounds as part of the afternoon starters, with Harrington currently on one-under after birdieing the second, while McKibbin is at one over. Play is continuing.