McIlroy outplays Penge at World Tour Championship as Kim leads after first round

The head-to-head betwixt Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge astatine the season-ending World Tour Championship has gotten disconnected to an highly one-sided commencement successful Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The head-to-head betwixt Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge astatine the season-ending World Tour Championship has gotten disconnected to an highly one-sided start.

While McIlroy rolled successful 7 birdies successful a 6-under 66, Penge — the young pretender trying to overhaul the established superstar successful the European tour's Race to Dubai standings — struggled to a 74 successful the archetypal circular connected Thursday.

Penge's birdie astatine No. 18 meant helium avoided being tied for past successful the 52-player tract successful the last lawsuit of Europe's 2025 season, with the Englishman seeing adjacent up conscionable what it volition instrumentality to get to McIlroy’s level.

U.S. golfer Michael Kim changeable a bogey-free 64 to pb by 1 changeable from Tommy Fleetwood, whose beardown end-of-season signifier — aft winning for the archetypal time connected the PGA Tour and past starring successful Europe's Ryder Cup win astatine Bethpage — continued connected the Earth Course with 7 birdies and nary bogeys successful his 65.

McIlroy was tied for 3rd spot with Andy Sullivan and Thriston Lawrence and looks acceptable to beryllium crowned Europe’s No. 1 subordinate for a fourth consecutive year and the seventh clip successful his career. That would permission him 1 disconnected Colin Montgomerie's grounds haul.

Penge is 2nd successful the Race to Dubai standings, astir 767 points down McIlroy. To reel successful McIlroy, Penge — a three-time victor connected the circuit this twelvemonth — needs to triumph and anticipation McIlroy finishes worse than 2nd alone, oregon decorativeness successful a necktie for 2nd and for the Northern Irishman to beryllium down the leaderboard.

None of those scenarios appears apt astatine this point, with McIlroy displaying each the weapons — namely the large drives, superb robust crippled and improved putting — that helped him to implicit the vocation Grand Slam this twelvemonth by winning the Masters.

“I felt it was 1 of the champion approach-play rounds I’ve had successful a agelong time,” McIlroy said.

He rolled successful 2 six-footers and past a putt from 18 feet for birdies astatine his archetypal 3 holes and stayed beardown arsenic Penge, who had to woody with a bout of sickness aboriginal successful the week to hinder his preparations, began to falter.

He made 5 bogeys successful a 10-hole tally from No. 5, the past coming astatine the par-5 14th aft duffing a spot from the mediate of the fairway.

The final-hole birdie near Penge 8 shots down McIlroy.

Tyrrell Hatton, who is 3rd successful the Race to Dubai standings, needs to triumph to basal immoderate accidental of an improbable rubric portion besides needing McIlroy to decorativeness worse than a necktie for eighth with 1 different player. Hatton opened with a 70 and was six shots disconnected the pace.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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