Golf, by TourMiss

Rory McIlroy could be mistaken he was competing in Scotland in October rather than what should be the New Year heat in the UAE capital. McIlroy was not alone in battling near 60 km off-shore winds and the late afternoon chill, and on one of the toughest weather-related days in the 17-year history of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the UAE capital The World No. 8 had shown a little New Year rust in posting a Thursday starting score of a level par 72 but nothing prepared all those ...

Braveheart Scott Jamieson continued to defy not only the efforts of the game’s best but also ‘windier than Scotland’ weather on day two of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Jamieson, 38, moved four shots clear early on before a mid-round collapse before a superb 17th hole birdie in a round of 74 to maintain his one-shot lead at seven-under-par on the Yas Links course.  In-form Viktor Hovland (74) and Ian Poulter (72) are next best at six-under-par. In probably the worst weather in the 17-year ...

Seamus Power continues to impress, muscling his way to a share of fifth with a seven-under-par 65 on the opening day of the American Express at Palm Springs in California. Power didn’t drop a shot in competing on the Nicklaus course and was one of three venues playing host to the $7.6m event that for so many years was known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic. The new World No. 49 will head to the Pete Dye Stadium course for his second round just three shots adrift of the leading American duo of Patrick ...

A bearded Adam Scott was singing the praise of playing partner Nicolai Hojgaard after the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the UAE capital. Scott is competing in the Middle East for the first time since 2000 and is grouped with Hojgaard and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger for the opening two rounds of the $8m Rolex Series event being played for a first time in 17-years on the Yas Links course. The 20-year-old Hojgaard matched Wiesberger’s three-under-par 69 while Scott signed for a ...

Shane Lowry was delighted with his ‘first day back at school’ posting a five-under-par 67 on day one of the Abu Dhabi Championship on the Yas Links course in the UAE capital. After watching TV coverage of the morning rounds from the comfort of his Yas Island hotel room, it was a little cooler and also windy in the afternoon when Lowry took to the Kyle Phillips designed course. The 2019 Abu Dhabi champion will head into day two sharing ninth place, four shots adrift of Scotland’s Scott Jamieson ...

A jet-lagged Scott Jamieson took more delight in stealing Richie Ramsay’s thunder by setting a new course record on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Jamieson was out early posting a blemish-free nine-under-par 63 on the Yas Links course and designed by American Kyle Phillips who also laid out Kingsbarns Links in Fife. The Glaswegian’s effort in his 300th Tour event is a shot more than Ramsay’s 62 in the 2012 Emirates Airlines Invitational, a former pro/amateur event held ...

Rory McIlroy admitted he didn’t have his scoring boots on after a frustrating first round of his 15th full season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Yas Island. McIlroy signed off for a level par 72 in his first competitive round since his tail-of-the-field finish earlier last month at the Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas. The World’s No. 8’s frustration was no more evident than at the last, the par-5 ninth, where his 3-wood tee shot found rough on the edge of the hole, and right on water’s ...