Dubai, UAE ... Prolific-winning Graeme McDowell has expressed some concern top-ranked Scot Bob MacIntyre is not doing further harm to his left wrist in contesting this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
McDowell, McIntyre and England’s Paul Waring are grouped together for the opening two rounds of the event with G Mac grabbing bragging rights in snatching a pair of closing hole birdies in a level par 72.
MacIntyre had birdied both the 16th and 17th holes to get back to one-over but played a wild second shot over water at the last that found a bunker at the back of the adjoining ninth green.
The Oban lefty then cleared the green with his third before taking a further three shots to find the bottom of the cup for a bogey ‘6’ and in a two-over par 74.
Belgium’s big-hitting Thomas Pieters battled back from posting a 10th hole double and an 11th hole bogey to birdie three of his closing fives to lead by a shot with a 67.
The severe toughening of the Emirates Course, and as reported in yesterday’s Record Sport, produced a dramatic 30-year change in the first-round scoring.
Just 29 players managed to break par and the lowest number since 25 broke par on day one in the 1990 event, and the then third staging of the tournament.
This is in huge contrast to a year ago when 74 players were under par on day one while there was 104 under par after the first 18 holes in 2018 and that was one shy of the first round all-time low of 105 players who were better than par in the 2001 hosting of the event.
Defending Dubai champ, Bryson DeChambeau won a year ago with a record-setting 24-under par total but after the ‘toughening’ of the course he’s predicted after his opening 71 that the course will play four shots a round tougher.
He said: “If the conditions stay the same, I would say the course is going to play four shots tougher each of the four days compared to a year ago.
“I felt like that even par last year was for me around three to four-under and today I felt like I shot four or five under though it was only two-under.
“It was just so difficult out there today and just a completely difference challenge a year ago.”
One of the holes to feel the fairway ‘pinch’ was the par-4 ninth hole where DeChambeau was just one of four of 132 players in the field who managed to birdie the hole.
In contrast, MacIntyre was among 15 to post a double-bogey or higher at the ninth.
McDowell first met MacIntyre at last year’s Italian Open when the duo were partnered in the opening two rounds and he was immediately impressed.
McDowell said: “I played with Bob in Italy and the end of last year and I am very impressed with him and he’s a great young talent.
“Though he’s got this wrist injury he’s carrying and he needs to be careful and make sure he gets it fully healed because he’s got long great career ahead of him.
“There must be concern too as he’s got the wrist strapped and he’s clearly not comfortable out there while he has not practiced over the off-season as he would have liked.
“So, he’s a bit under-prepared and that was noticeable out there today.
“Though like I say, he is very talented and he’s got a great career ahead of him.”
The Tartan trio of former double Dubai winner Stephen Gallacher along with Grant Forrest and Richie Ramsay share top-Scot honours with 73s.
