Rory McIlroy Fires Stunning 62 In First Round Of 2024

Rory McIlroy showed no signs of rust after a lengthy period off as he began the new year with an effortless bogey-free 62 to take the first-round lead at the Dubai Invitational.

Earlier in the week, the Northern Irishman said he was using this tournament as little more than a "practice week" having competed just once since the Ryder Cup. But, the World No.2 needed no time to get back to his best, flying out of the traps with three birdies in his first four holes.

Delightful iron approaches into 7, 9 and 11 rewarded McIlroy with another trio of birdies around the turn as he flew up the leaderboard at the Dubai Creek Resort.

The Dubai Invitational is making its inaugural appearance on the DP World Tour, with the tournament featuring 60 professionals and 60 amateurs for the first three rounds of the competition.

The 34-year-old, though, took little time to settle into the new environment, with a sparkling iron from the left rough on 15 setting up his seventh birdie of the day before back-to-back birdies on the penultimate two holes saw him finish at -9, just one shot shy of the course record.

"I didn't expect that," a surprised McIlroy reflected after the round. "It didn't feel quite as good as that the first couple of days when I was here and hitting balls and playing the course. 

"But it was nice to get a card in the hand again and sort of feel the competitive juices flowing. It was a really comfortable group. 

"I really like playing with Ryan [Fox] and the two amateurs we had I know very, very well. So it was a very comfortable sort of pairing and round of golf out there. Yeah, surprised myself a little bit but hopefully more of the same over the next few days."

The four-time Major champion has a two-shot lead over Yannik Paul, with South Africa's Thriston Lawrence one shot further back at six-under-par. Tommy Fleetwood, another high-profile name in this week's field, is also in contention.

Despite his lack of competition appearances, it has still been a busy off-season for McIlroy who, in November, announced he would be stepping back from the PGA Tour policy board.

The Northern Irishman cited personal and professional reasons for the resignation and admitted he felt freed up and more relaxed heading into this week as he another season in search of his first Major since 2014.

"It's nice to have a little bit more free time again, whether that's more time on the golf course and practising, or a bit more time with my family or doing other things that I enjoy doing. It's going to be nice," he said speaking earlier in the week.

"I'm excited for the year. This is my 18th full season on tour, which is mad to think about. But I'm as excited as I was for the first one."