Bain makes the most of home advantage

Dubai: Ross Bain was flying high yesterday after finishing above world No 1 Tiger Woods on the leaderboard.

Bain made the most of a home advantage to shoot 66, one point above Woods's 67 and go into round two of the Classic with everything to play for.

"I had a good birdie on the 17th ," said Bain. "It got my momentum flowing again. It was a great finish and I'm really happy; I'm above Tiger Woods and Ernie Els on the first round."

In all Bain carded five birdies, one eagle and one bogey on the Emirates course where an exhaustive knowledge of the greens served him well.

"This is my home tournament in Dubai and it's a great feeling to get off to such a great start," said Bain. "If I keep playing well I can achieve my goals and get further up the leader board. My knowledge of the course is probably the biggest advantage I have.

"Having played them so much means I don't have a doubt about the lines. Normally I would use the caddy and make sure that we agree on the breaks, but today I seldom asked my caddy on the greens as I know what I'm doing. If I can hit the greens well I pretty much know where I'm going."

Bain, who was born in Scotland, moved to Dubai when he was seven and has been playing on the Asian Tour for eight seasons. His success in Dubai will encourage him after failing to get into the Hong Kong and China tournaments last year.

"I wasn't too happy going into Christmas time," he said. "But I have been playing consistently well, making a lot of birdies and not making too many mistakes.

"I will go home and sleep in my own bed which is a bit strange at a golf tournament!" he observed.