Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2013: Day 1 Leaderboard Analysis and Highlights

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 17, 2013

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While the golf world had its eyes on new Nike teammates and top-ranked players Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson look toward Day 2 with a one-stroke lead over the field.

Rose and Donaldson each tallied rounds of 67, good enough for five-under par on Day 1 of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a stroke ahead of Thorbjorn Olesen and Pablo Larrazabal at four under.

There aren’t many familiar faces atop the leaderboard, but Paul Casey, Jason Dufner, Martin Kaymer and Ernie Els (among others) all finished the day tied for 16th at one under. More than three-quarters of the field finished at even par or worse on the day.

Woods finished the day at even par (72) tied for 32nd, but McIlroy was one of 13 players that finished the day two strokes short of the projected cut at three-over par (75), and he’ll have a bit of a hole out of which to dig if he is to compete past Day 2.



Much has been said about McIlroy’s switch to Nike as his main sponsor, and some feel his new clubs may take some getting used to. Several bad shots on Day 1 only led to more speculation.

As quoted by Bob Harig of ESPN, Woods (the face of Nike golf equipment) believes making the switch to new clubs is a “big deal” for any golfer:

"I think that any time you make a change in equipment, it's certainly a big deal. I think it's about how you go at it. Going through the testing process, trying to get the right shaft and the club head, plus ball ... it's a challenge, and there's a lot of hitting of golf balls or a lot of testing, a lot of days out there spending by yourself testing.”

McIlroy will be further testing his new gear in Round 2, and he’ll likely be focusing heavily on improving his work with his new driver. McIlroy finished day one with just 35.7 percent driving accuracy.

Where McIlroy struggled, Rose and Donaldson excelled....
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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