DUBAI: Thomas Pieters, seeking to make amends for a disappointing week in Abu Dhabi, was the leader at 5-under through 15 holes in the weather-hit Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
A little over six hours of play was lost due to heavy overnight rain and a thunderstorm in the wee hours of Thursday. That left the course unplayable before the staff made it golf worthy to see a start at 1.15 pm.
India's lone player at the event, Shubhankar Sharma, drawn to play in the afternoon, did not get a chance to tee off and will now start only on Friday. Sharma said he spent the entire day at the hotel and had lunch and relaxed with friends. He will play his first and second rounds with Jordan Smith and Thorbjorn Olesen.
Only 12 player s, that is two groups on either side of course, were able to finish the first round with three English players — Matthew Jordan, Daniel Gavins and Oliver Wilson — carding 4-under 68 each.
There was a scramble to finish to finish by some of the earliest groups to tee off so that they could avoid coming early on Friday to play a few holes. Two-time champion here, Rory McIlroy, looking for a winning start to 2023, was one-under through 15 holes. He had a four-foot putt for birdie on the seventh, his 16th hole of the day.
The morning start was delayed by over six hours on account of heavy overnight rain which left standing water in some places.
