October 31, 2013. North Ireland’s star golfer Rory McIlroy is back to leading form at WGC-HSBC Champions being held in Shanghai. His splendid opening round of 65 with eight birdies has placed him at the top of the leader board at the $ 8.5 million tournament termed as Asia’s Major.
Making his 2013-14 debut, McIlroy carded a seven-under-par 65 to take the overnight lead at the WGC-HSBC Champions. It’s the first time McIlroy has had held an outright lead after 18 holes since the 2011 U.S. Open, which he went on to win.
“It was good, it felt good to be out there and be in control of my golf ball,” McIlroy said. “It’s only one round of golf, but it’s definitely the way I wanted and needed to start this week.”
[highlight] It’s only one round of golf, but it’s definitely the way I wanted and needed to start this week, said Mcilroy [/highlight]
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, determined to return back to his winning ways, shot an opening round of 69 with five birdies and soared to 8th position at the end of first round on Thursday. Bhullar is tied 8th along with Ernie Els, Kiradech Aphinbarnrat, Dustin Johnson, Scott Hend, Paul Casey and Graeme Mcdowell.
Two off the pace were Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Jamie Donaldson while Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Bubba Watson and Justin Rose each opened with 64s.
The former world No. 1 is waiting for a first tournament win in 2013, and kicking off on the back nine McIlroy opened up with a birdie on the par-4 10th.
Despite a bogey on the following hole, McIlroy then collected four more birdies to make the turn in 32 shots.
His final nine holes started with consecutive birdies to put him on six-under, and he then ended the day on seven-under to hold the advantage.
McIlroy is currently 62nd in the Race to Dubai, with the top 60 making it through to the World Tour Championship next month.
