Dubai Desert Classic: Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Gary Murphy form part an inflated chasing pack of 11 players tied for second as they go in pursuit of the most dangerous Tiger of them all at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Fresh from his eight shot win at the Buick Invitational in California on Sunday, the world number one Tiger Woods hopped on his private jet destined for the desert to continue his imperious form on the fairways.
Woods laid down an early marker at the Emirates Club with his morning 65, a flawless round containing seven birdies and no dropped shots. His intentions were made clear from the outset when he chipped to an inch of the hole at the 10th, his first, for a birdie four that paved the way for a seven-under round.
"It is definitely better than last week. I have had two good practice days over the last couple of days and started to hit the ball a lot better than I did last week," said Woods, whose victory at last week's Buick took him level (62) with Arnold Palmer in fourth place on the all-time PGA Tour win list.
"I hit the golf ball a lot more cleanly and shaped the ball better. I drove the ball a lot better but the shape of my shots was so much better than it was last week.
"I played well today, I hit a bunch of good shots. The only bad shot I really hit today was at the par-five 13th, other than that, I really hit the ball well.
"I made a lot of putts last week, I didn't particularly drive it very well. My iron game was all right but on those bumpy poa greens, for some reason, I made a bunch of putts but they just happened to bump in. They usually bump out.
"I definitely missed a few putts today. I had a couple of good opportunities to make some putts and ran them over the edge but I couldn't have asked for a better start."
The other 119 players in the field were unable to match Woods, but the Irish pair of McDowell and Murphy did well to get within two shots of the 32-year-old. McDowell matched Woods for birdies but dropped shots at the second and sixth undid some of the good work. Murphy closed with a birdie on the final hole before signing for his opening 67.
Damien McGrane was shot further back after opening with fine 68, a round which was boosted by birdies at the 17th and 18th.
Peter Lawrie and teenage sensation Rory McIlroy are both well-placed inside the top 30 after shooting three-under 69s, while Paul McGinley failed to produce any spark as he carded an opening 71.
The biggest disappointment - yet hardly a great surprise - was finding the name of Darren Clarke rooted towards the bottom end of the field on two over. Starting at the 10th Clarke picked up an early birdie at the 11th, his second, but would struggle to overcome a quadruple bogey nine at the par five 18th.
The Ryder Cup hero rallied to pick up two more birdies on his back nine before signing for a 74.
Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez is one of those sharing second and the 44-year-old used a six-iron to record a hole-in-one at the 186-yard seventh.
Defending champion Henrik Stenson joins three-time Dubai winner Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia in the group at four-under. Colin Montgomerie, who was playing alongside Woods, finished the day at level par after carding two double-bogeys over his last four holes.
When Woods recently claimed he has already stepped up his game to a new level, you just know the signs are ominous for the rest as they struggle to keep pace with the 13-time major winner. This was clearly evident once more on the opening day at the Emirates.
Additional reporting by PA
