Shaun Norris and Renato Paratore set the National Course alight during the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA after both players posted rounds of eight under par to take command of the first Rolex Series event of the season.
Both players carded nine birdies with the pair each dropping a shot on the par-three seventh during the first tournament on the European Tour’s Desert Swing. Italian Paratore came into the event off a strong start in the 2020 Race to Dubai with a top 20 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and a runner-up finish at the AFRASIA Bank Mauritius Open.
“My short game and iron play were really good today,” said Paratore, who finished his round with four consecutive birdies. “I holed some good putts on the last four holes and it was a nice way to finish. So, I’m pretty happy with the short game today.”
Norris’ round started slowly with the South African only finding himself one under after seven holes before superbly finding his form to post seven birdies in his next nine holes in the capital.
“I hit the ball nicely today which gave myself a couple of chances,” said Norris. “It didn’t fall for the first couple of holes but I told my caddie, ‘I feel like I’m hitting the lines and starting to feel the greens.’ As soon as I made the putt on eight, and then nine, I just started feeling like it’s snowballing. I started hitting better shots close to the holes to give myself super opportunities after that.”
World No.1 Brooks Koepka went bogey-free on his way to a six under par 66 and was joined in third spot by Australia’s Jason Scrivener, who also finished his round without a blemish on the scorecard.
“It’s good to be back,” said four-time Major winner Koepka. “I’ve obviously missed playing competition and I played really solidly today aside from a missed few putts early on – if I really wanted to pick it apart. I drove the ball well and controlled the ball flight and distances really well – that’s what you have to do out here.”
Dubai-based amateur Josh Hill became the youngest player to ever feature in the event when his first round began at 12.35 pm alongside former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and Austrian Matthias Schwab.
The 15 year old got off to a flying start with a superb birdie on the first and went on to card four more as he outscored both of his playing partners combined in the birdie count. Five bogeys and one double bogey meant the youngster had to settle for a two over par first round but the Englishman was content with his first European Tour start in front of a home crowd.
“It was nerve-wracking to start with but once I got underway I was comfortable,” said Hill. “I was shaking standing on the first tee just as I was about to hit the drive, I was thinking in my head ‘all you have to do is take the club back’. I ripped it and holed a good putt for birdie to get off to a good start and my nerves went after that.
“It was really nice to have a lot of support out there today. I hit four good shots on the 18th to finish the day off well so hopefully this continues tomorrow and I’m better off the tee than today.”
Spanish stars Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sergio Garcia were two of six players in fifth on five under par while the UAE’s Ahmad Skaik finished on ten over par.
