Rafael Cabrera-Bello was the early pace-setter in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf Thursday, ending on nine under par after sinking seven birdies in his opening nine holes.
|Last Updated: Feb 09, 2012, 06:20 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Dubai: Rafael Cabrera-Bello was the early pace-setter in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf Thursday, ending on nine under par after sinking seven birdies in his opening nine holes.
Tournament favourite Rory McIlroy was on par after three holes, while world number two Lee Westwood finished on three under.
Cabrera-Bello, 27, belied his lowly world ranking of 119 and looked poised to challenge Ernie Els`s record 11 under at the Majlis course after surging to nine under with 11 holes played, but the Spaniard found the final seven tougher going, holing all of them for par.
Cabrera-Bello was joined on the leaderboard by German Marcel Siem and Scotland`s Scott Jamieson, who both shot seven under.
Siem blotted his copybook with a bogey on the par-five 18th, while Jamieson bagged two birdies and an eagle on his final six holes.
Thomas Bjorn, a Classic winner in 2011, was tied for fourth on six under.
"I played well today, anytime you shoot 66 on any golf course you have to be happy," the Dane told Reuters.
"Conditions were very good today and these greens are as good as they come, people are going to hole putts and that always gives good scoring. It doesn`t matter how hard you set up a golf course, when you offer guys these conditions, there is always someone who is going to shoot numbers."
World number two McIlroy teed off in the afternoon with last month`s Abu Dhabi Championship winner Robert Rock and defending Dubai champion Alvaro Quioros, who were one and two over respectively.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.