Dubai: Jamie Donaldson looked all set to equal Ernie Els’ 24-year-old course record of 61 before agonisingly bogeying the last hole to finish 10 under on Day One of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday.
The Welshman roared up the leaderboard in the afternoon session — after which David Horsey had set the morning target of nine under — to post two sets of birdies either side of an eagle on four, before making the turn at six under.
He then added five more birdies, four of which were consecutive from his 13th to 16th holes, before landing in the sand twice on holes 17 and 18, the last of which saw him miss an eight foot putt for par.
Horsey sits a stroke behind with Anthony Wall, while Tyrrell Hatton is another stroke back at eight under.
Two-time Dubai winner Rory McIlroy — who will be looking to equal Els’ tournament record of most wins this week — heads up a five-man list, which includes; Chris Paisley, Thomas Pieters, Alex Bjorn and Lasse Jensen, who are all a further stroke back on seven under.
“You can never be disappointed with 10-under can you?” said Donaldson, who missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week. “With five holes to go I started to think about 59,” — that would have been a new European Tour record as no one has gone below 60 — “I just thought, ‘well birdie every hole coming in and you’ve done it’.
“I didn’t know what the course record was, I was only thinking of 59 really, I probably shouldn’t have been thinking that. I should have been concentrating on hitting fairways, greens and giving myself chances.
“I birdied five, six, and seven,” — which were his 14th, 15th and 16th holes having teed-off from 10 — “Got a great chip on eight [his 17th] after a poor tee shot, and then obviously you knew your chance had gone then.
“I fancied it but it wasn’t to be. I knew I had to chip that one in on eight. It was close but didn’t go in and that was it then. I’m happy with the way I played.
“Getting 59 is only a bonus, isn’t it? It’s the icing on the cake. Everybody wants to shoot 59, but it’s something that only comes if you’re playing really good golf. That’s gone now, so it’s just a case of more of the same moving on.”
Meanwhile, McIlroy, who returned from long-term injury last week to finish tied for third in Abu Dhabi after a wretched 2017, was delighted to continue his resurgence with a blemish-free 65, thanks to four outward birdies and three on his return.
“I didn’t expect to play as well as I did last week, and it’s been nice to continue that into this week. I’m ahead of schedule,” — he said in terms of his recovery — “But I don’t mind that, that’s nice.
“Not being able to play my best all of last year was something that I was very frustrated with. But from then until now, it’s completely different. I’m really happy with where my body is, where my game is and this is a nice progression.
“There’s so many chances out there, I knew if I got in my rhythm that some would fall. I feel like I left a few out there. It’s just a matter of trying to keep doing what I’m doing.”
