Abu Dhabi, January 20 (BNA): A new cycle brought the unknown element to the Abu Dhabi Championship today, Thursday. Victor Hovland still feels at home, according to the Associated Press.
Striving for a third win in his last four events, the Norwegian put in an impressive display by setting the undulating greens at Yas Links – first-time host of the event – to shoot an 8-under 64 and take a one-hand hit from the first-round lead held by Scott Jamieson.
Hovland may be the best player in the world, having won back-to-back championships – in Mexico and the Bahamas – at the end of last year to climb to seventh.
Those events were held on beachfront courses with paspalum grass on the greens – just like Yas Links, which hosts the Abu Dhabi Championship rather than the nearby Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
No wonder Hovland took into account circumstances, such as when he rolled a birdie shot from 37 feet in No. 3 and another from 30 feet in No. 15.
“There are some tough staples out there, and obviously the greens are pretty tough,” he said. “I don’t know, this grass, I feel really comfortable when I wear the basalum grass, and I read the greens well.
“That’s the day these guys come in, and I’ve been able to take advantage of it.”
The opposite was true for Colin Morikawa, Hovland’s playing partner and another of the rising golf stars.
The British Open champion was playing the first event in his title defense to Dubai and nearly slashed close to the fairway on his first hole on his way to making a birdie.
This was one of the few highlights of his 1-over 73 round that left him 10 shots back already and he shook his head as he exited 18th.
Setting second-placed Morikawa was a double bogey in eighth, pushing the tee into the water and then having to return all the way to the tee box to hit another.
His only other shot came on the 17th, where he missed the ball from three feet high.
Jamieson, the 336th-ranked Scot, hasn’t played competitively in eight weeks and decided not to do any deep analysis of his game in his long winter break.
He quickly settled into the 2022 season with 63 stealth frees containing nine birds – four coming from a five-hole span at the start of his back nine and the last coming from 12 feet in 5 18.
Thomas Peters was alone in third after 65, while defending champion Tyrell Hutton was in a five-way tie to finish fourth after 66.
Rory McIlroy played alongside Hatton in what was the first event of 2022 for both players and got off to a poor start, penetrating his last two holes for 72 equals.
Six groups failed to complete the first round due to dim lights and will return early Friday to Yas Links, where winds are expected to reach 35 mph (56 kph) for parts of the second round.
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