Ryan Fox has made a slow start to his 2023 season at the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship.
The Kiwi world No 28 shot a one-under 71 after the first round at the Yas Island Links to sit in a tie for 44th, seven shots back from leader LukeDonald of England.
Fox, who is coming off the best season of his career in 2022, mixed in four birdies with three bogeys in his first tournament in over a month.
Fellow New Zealander Daniel Hillier was even par for the day, with a costly double bogey on the par-4 15th dropping him to a tie for 65th after his first round in Abu Dhabi.
Europe captain Donald upstaged many players who will be in his team at the Ryder Cup by shooting eight-under 64 to take the first-round lead.
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Donald rolled in a four-foot putt at No 9 — his last hole — to close with four straight birdies and have nine in total on his card at the start of one of the top events on the European tour schedule, and the first of 2023.
The 45-year-old Englishman’s last title was in 2012, when he was the world’s top-ranked golfer — he spent a combined 56 weeks as No 1 in 2011-12 — and a regular winner on both sides of the Atlantic.
Now ranked No 541, Donald’s name is rarely seen on leaderboards but his profile has been raised by getting the Ryder Cup captaincy for the contest against the United States outside Rome in September.
Win at Yas Island Links this week and he might be in with a chance of being a playing captain.
“It was 1975, I think, the last time that happened,” Donald said, with a smile. “No, we are a long way from that.”
Luke Donald of England. Photo / AP
Still, the likes of Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood — players expected to be in Europe’s team at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club — couldn’t live with Donald on a day when scoring was lower among the morning starters before wind picked up in the afternoon.
Guido Migliozzi — an Italian with a chance of making the Ryder Cup team — and Australia’s Jason Scrivener shot 65 and were one stroke off the lead. Seamus Power, an Irishman also with Ryder Cup hopes, had a 66 and was alone in fourth place when play was suspended for bad light with 18 players yet to finish their round.
Lowry, the highest-ranked player in the field, and rejuvenated Italian Francesco Molinari, coming off a good week at the Hero Cup last week, were in a seven-man group on five-under par after 67s.
Fleetwood, who was playing on his 32nd birthday, shot 66 as did Henrik Stenson, playing his first event on the European tour since losing the Ryder Cup captaincy for joining LIV Golf six months ago.
Lee Westwood made 69 while fellow LIV golfer Patrick Reed shot even-par 72 to lie eight shots behind Donald, who said he was not surprised to go so low.
“Just kind of suits my eye,” he said. “It’s not too tight off the tee. You have to pick some good lines.
“I actually came into this year with higher expectations than I had in a while just for my own game. You know when you’re swinging reasonably well ... to be honest, I feel like my game is in a pretty good spot.”
Migliozzi would say the same. Off the back of a starring role at the Hero Cup down the road at Abu Dhabi Golf Club where he was tied for the top individual scorer, Migliozzi was bogey-free Thursday and made five birdies along with an eagle at No. 1 — his 10th hole — when he holed a wedge shot from 89 yards.
