ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Europe captain Luke Donald upstaged many players who will be in his team at the Ryder Cup by shooting 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday.
Donald rolled in a 4-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 DP World 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.