GOLF – Francesco Laporta matched the lowest round of his DP World Tour career to take a three-shot lead after round one yesterday of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship in the UAE.
The Italian carded an eagle and eight birdies in a bogey-free 62 to get to 10 under at Yas Links, three shots clear of former world number one Jon Rahm, Englishman Sam Bairstow, and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger.
The top 70 available players from the Race to Dubai Rankings are teeing it up in this week’s first Play-Off event, with the top 50 then moving on to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Laporta entered the week ranked 57th but will be assured of a place in Duabi if he can maintain anything like the form he showed on day one over the weekend.
Spaniard Rahm was playing the event for the first time and was also bogey-free as he looks to make it to Dubai next week.
Wiesberger is currently on track for dual membership with the PGA Tour and he carded eight birdies and a single bogey to sit a shot ahead of England’s Matthew Jordan and Pole Adrian Meronk.
Defending champion Aaron Rai, fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, in-form Japanese Yuto Katsuragawa, China’s Wenyi Ding, South African Shaun Norris, and Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan were then a further shot back.
In the battle to win the Race to Dubai, leader Eugenio Chacarra carded a round of 70 to sit at two under, while second-placed Patrick Reed recorded a two over par 74.
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