Impressive scoring on day one of the Aviv Dubai Championship is highlighted by Joachim Hansen atop the leaderboard and Ahmad Skaik, UAE’s Number One golfer, shooting the lowest round by an Emirati on the European Tour.
85 of the 100-person field shot under par for the first round on the Fire Course at Jumeriah Golf Estates. Trying to play his way into the DP World Tour Championship next week, Hansen found himself in possession of a two-shot lead at the end of play, carding nine birdies on his way to a flawless 63.
“I had some good practice days with my coach here the last few days, my game yesterday looked solid, good warm up on the range today and had confidence going out there and it showed itself” said Hansen, “I loved it, no wind, perfect conditions and lovely to play in. I kept the ball in play, hit a lot of fairways in the first 14 holes but I holed the putts I needed, missed a few but you can’t hole them all.”
Dean Burmester, Antoine Rozner, and Andy Sullivan all sit two-shots back having shot solid 65’s during the morning wave, as well as Englishmen Paul Waring from the afternoon wave.
The round of the day came from the local favourite, Ahmad Skaik, who, not only shot his lowest round on the European Tour, shot the lowest round ever by an Emirati golfer on the European Tour, signing for a 4-under par 68. The previous record was held by Ahmed Al Musharrekh who shot a 71 (-1) at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Championship.
Following the round, Skaik commented: “It’s hard to put it into words how it feels. I really could trust my game out there today which feels amazing, I think I hit 16 greens, so I felt in control of the ball.
“To see my Dad’s smile at the end there means everything. My goal coming into this week was to make the cut and that remains the same, I’ve made a good start, but I need to now keep my head down and do more of the same tomorrow.”
Also, near the top of the leaderboard is fan-favourite and European Ryder Cup hero, Tommy Fleetwood, carding a 66, he said “I drove it well. I did a lot of very good things but there were a couple of sloppy things out there that you would like to, on a really good day when you feel like you can get it going, you would rather not to.”
Day two play begins at 7am tomorrow morning, with Hansen teeing off at 11.40am and home favourite, Skaik, will get underway at 11.20am on the 10th tee.
The Aviv Dubai Championships is the penultimate tournament on the 2021 European Tour schedule, preceding the season ending DP World Tour Championship where the top-50 players on the Race to Dubai rankings will battle it out for the $9million prize pot and the European Number One crown.
Aviv Clinics, the title sponsor of the event, provides medical treatments to improve performance by enhancing cognitive and physical capabilities.
