DUBAI (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy chipped in from the bunker on the final hole of his first round of the DP World Tour Championship on Thursday to be within two strokes of the lead and level with Danny Willett, his main rival to be Europe’s top player of 2015.
Four-time major winner McIlroy and Willett are two of eight players to card a four-under 68 on Dubai's earth course, two strokes behind the leading quartet of Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Australia’s Marcus Fraser and English duo Ian Poulter and Andy Sullivan.
McIlroy, 26, was fortunate to end the day on the fringes of the leaderboard after twice finding bunkers on the 18th before holing from the sand to pick up an unlikely birdie.