Luke Donald scoffs at Ryder Cup suggestion after GOING LOW in Abu Dhabi
Ryder Cup Europe captain Luke Donald took the early lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the DP World Tour at Yas Links.
Luke Donald dismissed the idea he would be playing in the Ryder Cup after taking the early lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the DP World Tour.
Donald only made one bogey at Yas Links on his way to an opening round of 8-under 64.
The Ryder Cup Europe captain has a one-stroke lead over Italy's Guido Migliozzi - who has just signed for TaylorMade - and Australia's Jason Scrivener.
There was a strong showing from the players hoping to be on Donald's team in Rome, with Shane Lowry (67), Tommy Fleetwood (68) and Seamus Power (66) all starting well.
Related: Jon Rahm believes LIV players will be banned from Ryder Cup
The man who Donald replaced as captain - Henrik Stenson - shot an opening round of 68.
Stenson later told the media he believes LIV Golf players will prevail in next month's court showdown against the DP World Tour.
The Swede insisted he was having fun on his first start on the European-based circuit since being relieved of his Ryder Cup duties.
But for Donald, he doesn't think it was surprising that he went low on day one.
Donald carded five consecutive birdies from No. 6 at the Rolex Series event, carrying a prize purse of $9m.
He told the media:
So, could we potentially see Donald teeing it up at the Marco Simone Golf & Country club in September?
Donald joked:
New clubhouse leader @LukeDonald finishes with four straight birdies for an opening round 64.#ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/X1BiivJ2iu
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 19, 2023
As many as nine LIV Golf players are playing this week.
Lee Westwood, who is playing his 30th season on tour, opened up with a 3-under par 69. Ian Poulter - who says he may now snub the Ryder Cup even if he qualifies - carded an opening 71.
Leaderboard after round one:
L. Donald -8
G. Migliozzi, J. Scrivener -7
S. Power -6
M. Kawamura, S. Sharma, S. Lowry, S. Valimaki, S. Soderberg, E. Molinari, F. Molinari -5
T. Fleetwood -4
Next page: Sir Nick Faldo lands new DP World Tour job
Ben joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
