Thursday 29 January 2015 18:20, UK
Bernd Wiesberger enjoyed a barrage of birdies on the back nine as he outshone a world-class field in the opening round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
On a day of low scoring in perfect conditions at The Emirates Golf Club, Wiesberger roared to the top of the leaderboard with five consecutive birdies on his back nine as he returned a flawless eight-under 64 to earn a one-shot lead.
The Austrian's late salvo gave him the edge over Nicolas Colsaerts, Lee Westwood Andy Sullivan and Peter Uihlein, while Rory McIlroy is one stroke further adrift alongside course specialist and two-time defending champion Stephen Gallacher.
Colsaerts was first into the clubhouse on seven under after he birdied four of his first six holes and picked up four further shots until taking the gloss off an excellent start with his only bogey of the day at the ninth - his last.
"I feel very good, I was in the zone all day," he said. "I still felt like I left a few out there, I could have easily been 10 under today.
"It's mixed feelings because I was hitting it wayward off the tee and then certain shots into the green I must have been looking like I was owning the place."
The big-hitting Belgian was soon joined by South African Open champion Andy Sullivan, who clearly enjoyed being in the company of McIlroy and Martin Kaymer as the Englishman carded five birdies and an eagle at the 18th in his error-free 65.
Westwood also kept a bogey off his card and birdied his final two holes to earn a share of the early clubhouse lead before all three were surpassed by Wiesberger, who has now broken 70 in nine of his last 11 rounds on the European Tour.
Wiesberger followed five opening pars with a birdie at the sixth, and he picked up two more at nine and 10 before sparking his superb charge to the head of the leaderboard at the 13th.
His run of five straight birdies came to an end with a par at the long 18th, but he had done enough to claim the outright lead after Uihlein stuttered down the stretch after a blistering first 13 holes.
"I've always played well here," Wiesberger said. "I know I can make a lot of birdies out here. Perfect conditions like we have had the last couple of weeks make the guys go low.
"I struggled with my putting early on. I just didn't get the ball to the hole and finally hit one close on six, got a nice birdie on nine and took advantage on the back nine. Once I got the pace right on the greens, which were a bit slower than expected, the ball started dropping."
Uihlein lets it slip
American Uihlein birdied the first three and carded five in seven holes around the turn to give himself a shot at Ernie Els' course-record of 61, but birdie chances at 14, 15 and 16 all slipped wide before a wayward approach at the 17th left him unable to avoid a bogey.
Uihlein closed with a par to make it a four-way share of second, while the 66s of McIlroy and Gallacher were matched by Maximilian Kieffer, Anders Hansen, Seve Benson, Hennie Otto and Marc Warren.
McIlroy started at the 10th and birdied his first two holes before being hampered by an errant driver, although he picked up his third shot of the round at the 18th after a stunning second to 15 feet.
The world No 1 reached seven under with a run of four birdies in six holes from the third, but he blotted his card at the ninth to match the earlier 66 of Gallacher, who made a confident start in his bid to become only the sixth player in European Tour history to win the same tournament three years running.
The Scot followed an opening birdie at 10 with an eagle at 13 before giving a shot back at the 16th, but he responded with four birdies on the front nine including two to finish with.
"This round is a statement that I don't want to give the trophy back without a fight but then it is only the first round and I still have three rounds to play," Gallacher said.
"I worked hard today. I had to think a wee bit more consciously about the swing, which I don't like doing, but it was good in the end."
Kaymer's attempt to atone for his final-day diasppointment in Abu Dhabi started with a confident seven-birdie 67, a score later matched by Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell and Nedbank Golf Challenge winner Danny Willett.
Emiliano Grillo staged the comeback of the day, recovering from two over after 11 with an astonishing run of seven consecutive birdies to close out his 67.
Further down the leaderboard, world No 1 Henrik Stenson offset four birdies with two bogeys in a workmanlike 70, but Branden Grace - a two-time winner already this season - struggled to a 73 while Sergio Garcia also faces a tough task to make the cut after a front-nine 40 left him at three over par.
And Javier Ballesteros, son of the late, great Seve, endured a torrid opening round as he carded three double-bogeys in an 11-over 83, leaving him in last place.
Live second round coverage from Dubai will now start at 8am on Friday morning on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
