Scotland’s David Drysdale produced one of his best opening rounds for some time and needed just 27 putts in a round of eight birdies and two bogeys in a round of 66 for a superb share of third place on day one of the RAK Golf Classic at Al Hamra Golf Club.

Drysdale ended the opening day of the RAK double-headed tied with eight others on six-under par but only two shots adrift of big-hitting Kiwi Ryan Fox.

Fox equalled a DP World career low and also matched the Al Hamra course record set last Sunday by China No. 1 Haotong Li in the RAK Championship by Phoenix Capital.

The Drysdale alarm went off at 4.40am local time ahead of being out in the second group at 7.20am local time from the first tee.

A David Drysdale decision to reduce the loft of his putter paid dividends on the opening day of the RAK Golf Classic

The teaming of Drysdale and his wife, Vicky managed eight birdies, and capped by four of those birdies over his closing five holes.  However, it was a slow start for the affable Scot and dropping a shot at the par-5 third hole for bogey before a birdie at the short par-4 fifth hole.

In crossing the road leading to the clubhouse, he bogeyed the sixth but from thereon Drysdale was at his best with back-to-back birdies at seven and eight ahead of a gem of a birdie, in clearing water guarding the green at the 10th, where he put his second shot to 10-feet and rolled in a fourth birdie of the morning.

Drysdale then capped his round with a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th and then an eighth birdie of his round at the last for his 66.

He said: “Nothing much was happening for the first six holes, so it was pretty average golf with a couple of poor swings and then I birdied seven and tapped in for birdie at eight and from there on it was pretty solid.

“My iron play was really strong, so really pleased with the round”.

And if there was a key to his lowest round this new season it was a decision to decrease the loft of his Odyssey putter.

He said:  “I found I was rolling the ball well but for the first two to three feet of the strike, the ball was in the air so we bent the putter slightly to reduce the loft and that is so much better.

“My putting was half average for these first three weeks, and I haven’t done anything on the greens so hopefully this could be a big turnaround in my putting”.

This week’s Al Hamra double-header is not the first time in recent years the DP World Tour has been in residence for back-to-back tournaments as we saw in Cyprus and Kenya, and while Drysdale did not contest the Tenefife events, he enjoyed Cyprus and revealed what he and his wife did last weekend in missing the cut.

He said: “It can make for a long time staying in the same place for two weeks so in missing the cut last week, we headed down the road to Dubai for three days and came back here to Al Hamra on Tuesday lunchtime.

“There was no reason for a practice round so it was a good few day’s breaks, and we’ve come back kind of refreshed.

“But then this Al Hamra course is modern golf and while I would like to see it a little tougher but then was are lucky to be playing tournament golf.  My favourite type of golf course is tree-lined where you have to shape shots.

“Though six-under is a good start and I’m very happy.  It’s a good foundation and I can build on that”.