Rory McIlroy closes in on sixth Race to Dubai as Tommy Fleetwood leads in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy got off to a solid start in his bid to wrap up a sixth Race to Dubai title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, but he's five shots off the early pace set by his European Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood. 

McIlroy, 35, is very much on the verge of sealing a sixth Harry Vardon trophy with a 1,500-point lead atop the DP World Tour Rankings.

There are just two events left on the schedule, this week in Abu Dhabi and then next week in Dubai. 

A strong finish for McIlroy this week will likely wrap it all up before the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

McIlroy opened with a solid 5-under 67 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

It was his first round back after a month out of action.

McIlroy earlier in the week admitted to working on a new swing to try and iron out some of his inconsistencies during the season. 

He also showed off an interesting new water bottle drill earlier this week. 

McIlroy admitted he struck balls into a blank screen during his latest break. 

"Yeah, it felt okay," McIlroy said after opening with a 67. 

"Sort of gotten comfortable with doing this little rehearsal before I take the club back. Yeah, it felt fine.

"Yeah, I probably wasn't as imaginative out there or I was sort of hitting very straight shots and I hit a couple where I didn't really see the picture of what I was trying to do with the ball flight because I was thinking too much on what I was doing with the swing.

"Overall, I'm quite fortunate that it's a nice week to come back because there's not too much wind. It's pretty wide off the tee. So I feel like I can concentrate a little bit more on what I'm trying to do with the motion. Yeah, overall it felt pretty good today."

As for being on the verge of landing a sixth Race to Dubai title, a feat that would match that of late great Seve Ballesteros, the World No.3 said: "I know that if I have a really good week this week, it makes my job a lot easier next week. 

"Honestly it's nice to be paired with Thriston [Lawrence] and Rasmus [Hojgaard] because you can sort of keep an eye on what they are doing, as well.

"But yeah, it's been a really good year, very, very consistent. Started well with the win in Dubai and I've let a couple slip away as well. But I've had a great deal of consistency, and that's the reason that I find myself in the place that I am. And I wanted to come here to the Middle East these two weeks and finish the season off the way I felt it deserves to be finished off."

Lawrence matched McIlroy's score of 67, while Hojgaard went one better with a 66. 

But the man they all have to catch at Yas Links so far this week is England's Tommy Fleetwood, who surged to the top of the board with a blistering 10-under 62, which tied the course record. 

Fleetwood, 33, won his sole title of the season at the Dubai Invitational in January. 

He is seeking the third victory of his career in Abu Dhabi having won this tournament in 2017 and 2018, albeit on a different course at Abu Dhabi GC.

Fleetwood is now projected to surge to second place behind McIlroy in the DP World Tour Rankings. 

Here's a look at the projected rankings as it stands. 

Elsewhere, LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton continued his impressive recent form with a superb 8-under 64. 

Hatton lies two back of Fleetwood.

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