Apologies if you read the headline and were expecting a story about a dance producer on the rampage in a glitzy club. Marginally less rock and roll – but only by a whisker – was Dustin Johnson’s 9-under-par round of 63 on Friday at the HSBC Champions that took him to 12-under, five shots clear of Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley and first round leader Rory McIlroy. DJ’s round was four shots better than anyone else and included ten birdies and a lone bogey on the 10th.
It turns that hollow one-shot victory against a sick, rusty and disinterested Tiger Woods in Hainan may just have done enough to get Rory McIlroy’s season back on track. Paired with Jason Dufner and Luke Donald in the opening round of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, McIlroy opened birdie-bogey. But six birdies in nine holes took him to -6, and another birdie on the 8th hole (his 17th) put him at -7, two shots ahead of last week’s winner Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and chopsticks maestro Jamie Donaldson. McIlroy rated it as his best round of the year.
Continue reading HSBC Champions Day 1: Rory rolls, Phil implodes
