McIlroy upstages Spieth with 1st-round 66 in Abu Dhabi

Jordan Spieth says if he hadn’t won a major he’d place that above Olympic glory but at this point “a gold medal would be very, very special”.

Jordan Spieth of the United States reacts after the tee off at the 15th hole during the round one of Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016.

“It was quite incredible”, DeChambeau said of his round, which contained seven birdies, an eagle and one bogey. So all I’ve dreamed of from a little kid is winning majors.

“It was a pretty unbelievable round on a very challenging golf course”. World No. 3 McIlroy was delighted with his 66 today. But it was his driving that set him apart on a warm, wind-free morning in the gulf emirate.

The Northern Irishman is competing in his first tournament of the year and showed no signs of rust as he blitzed the course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, recording eight birdies as he outshone playing partners Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. “I understand the rule but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when our group had caught up”.

“So look at Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson; this is still our generation, Tiger, Phil, Rory, these guys that have done more in the game of golf than I have and I want to strive to get to what they have done”.

McIlroy is playing his first tournament of the year after a gap of nearly two months since winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November.

Players are permitted 50 seconds to play their shot if first, and 40 seconds for the remainder of the group. “Sometimes I feel the refs have to use a bit of common sense, “.

There were no such problems for another 22-year-old American.

Spieth was a stroke adrift after picking up shots at his sixth and ninth holes. So then I called Michael [Greller, Spieth’s caddie] over and said “We’ve got time, let’s try and nail this thing down” because we had been on the clock for a number of holes.

“Not too bad on one leg, ” quipped Stenson, a runner-up in 2006.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: “The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is a world-class event attracting some of the games’ greatest competitors to Abu Dhabi“. Spieth bemoaned “short and crooked” play with his own driver but is still firmly in touch.

“There’ve been times where it’s taken me at least four or five days to find the middle of the clubface [after a break] and there’ve been times where it’s taken me a couple of hours, ” McIlroy said. Messi, recently crowned Ballon d’Or victor for a record fifth time, and his father Jorge have been charged with tax fraud for allegedly failing to declare 4.16 million euros ($4.69 million) in taxes related to his image rights between 2007 and 2009.

He finished his first nine in 34 shots after picking up another birdie at the par five 18th but gave it straight back with the only blemish of his round at the 405-yard first hole.