It is not about blaming anyone. Or rather, perhaps the blame lies with the wind, too lazy in a place like the Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, where it usually blows. It hasn’t, or it has done so with such gentleness that the scoring frenzy has soared to excessive heights, for what one can and even should expect from a high-profile event. The fact is that the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship has been so soft that scores of 65, seven under par for the day, have only reached the eighth position, no less. Tommy Fleetwood (-10) is the sole leader, and one stroke behind the Englishman are Johannes Veerman (-9) and Thorbjorn Olesen (-9), ahead of a small group of players with rounds of 64.
Very wide fairways and greens in perfect condition, very fair and, if that wasn’t enough, not too firm. Plain as day. They are likely to gain firmness as the rounds progress, but today’s damage is already done. Beyond the staggering number of birdies and eagles, one must also look at the low number of bogeys. In other words: good play has been generously rewarded today at Yas Links, and poor play, or not-so-outstanding shots, not sufficiently punished. If you like it, buy it. One more fact regarding the number of eagles made in this first round: with a field, let’s not forget, of only seventy players, 18 were made, compared to the 16 made in Korea over the total of four rounds and with an initial roster of 120 players…
The forecasts also do not indicate that the wind will pick up much in the coming rounds, so we will have to hope that the greens really gain firmness, or otherwise, the winning score could easily be around -28. Look, it wouldn’t be a big deal, really, but it’s also legitimate to demand a more stringent test in an event of this calibre, one of the most anticipated on the DP World Tour calendar.
The scoring exuberance, on the other hand, should not confuse us, because among other things, not everyone is able to take advantage of the favourable conditions, mind you, this is golf. For example, the 66-shot card of Adrián Otaegui (-6) is more than remarkable. And even the 67 with which Rory McIlroy (-5), Ángel Hidalgo (-5), and Alfredo García Heredia (-5) started, a score that has barely kept them within the top 20, but in no case should it be considered insufficient.
Then, of course, as often happens in these cases, comes the group of the surprised and the desperate, those who have not been able to beat the course (only seven players, in this case) or have done so by a small margin, which would be the case of Jorge Campillo (-1), Adam Scott (-1), Nicolai Hojgaard (-1) or even Alex del Rey (-2) and Matteo Manassero (-2). No, as it stands, today was not a day to finish in the sixties…
