Golf: McIlroy two shots behind at Dubai Championship

Rory McIlroy did his chances of becoming the new European number one no harm with five birdies over the last six holes leaving him two shots off the pace after the opening round of the Dubai World Championship.

The Ulsterman, who needs to win the US$7.5 million tournament to be any chance of topping Luke Donald in the Race to Dubai, made a double bogey on his second hole, but finished the day at six-under par 66.

Swede Peter Hanson was atop the leaderboard after matching the course record of 64, while 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie was one behind after a seven-under par 65.

World No.1 Donald, who needs to finish inside the top-10 to complete an unprecedented Money List double on both the US PGA and European Tours, was three-under at the turn, but succumbed with three bad tee shots on the back nine and the resulting bogeys restricted him to even-par 72.

Spain's Sergio Garcia, who is looking for a third win in three starts, made a double bogey on the par-3 17th in his five-under par 67, while England's Ross Fisher and Robert Rock were among three tied for fifth place at 68 along with Spaniard Alvaro Quiros.

"It was the perfect start for me," McIlroy said.

"To shoot a great score like that really sets me for the next three days.

"I made three very good birdies on the front nine, hit it still on the first, third and fifth, but also made a couple of very silly mistakes. But I just stayed patient and the back nine was pretty much flawless."

The world No.2's putter was on fire on the back nine, as he made birdie putts of 12 feet on the 10th, 25 feet on the 13th, a 40-footer on the 16th, an 18-feet effort on the 17th and a slippery 20-footer on the 18th.

"I didn't expect Luke to play the way he did. I thought I needed to make a four-five under on the back nine," McIlroy said.

"But then every putt I looked at, it went in. It's not something that I experience often."

Donald's day was summed up when he took an unplayable on two consecutive holes on the back nine.

"It was a mixture of two halves really. I played solid the front nine and a couple of poor drives got me on the back," he said.

"But I am going to go to the driving range and sort out a few things for tomorrow. I will just try and get a little bit better from here on."

Hanson, who missed the course record when a birdie putt on the 18th from eight feet just slid past, was delighted with his bogey-free start.

"Of course, you cannot win a golf tournament after the first round, but you can always lose it," he said.

"I think it's the best golf I've played. It's quite a demanding course and the wind picked up a little bit over the back nine."