Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship R1

January 16-19
Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
$7,000,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

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World Number one Brooks Koepka posted a sensational bogey-free 66 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA to get his week off to a flying start.

Playing his first tournament since October 2019 due to injury, Koepka took the initiative on his first tournament hole with a birdie on the lengthy par five 10^th before producing some thrilling golf to card five birdies in six holes between the 17^th and 3^rd to leave him two shots back from the clubhouse leaders.

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The rounds of the day came from the joint leaders, Italian Renato Paratore and South African Shaun Norris, who both shot eight-under par. Paratore, who in 2015 became the first player in European Tour history to score a four on every hole at the Open de France, is looking for his second European Tour victory having won the Nordea Masters in 2017. Shaun Norris, who carded an impressive nine birdies on day one, is seeking his first European Tour win after an impressive season on the Japan Tour, where he won and had four runner up finishes.

Following the round, Koepka said: “It’s good to be back. I’ve really missed the competition and I’m pleased to have put a solid round together. I missed a few putts early if I really want to pick it apart but I’m happy with how I drove the ball. I controlled the ball flight and my distances really well and that’s what you have to do out here.”

On his brilliant start to the tournament, Paratore commented: “I started really well, holed some putts early which gave me great confidence and finished strongly down the stretch. My short game and iron play was also really strong so I’m pleased.”

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Amongst the other strong performers from day one of the 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA was European Tour veteran Sergio Garcia who navigated his way to first round 67 with typical panache. Defending champion, Shane Lowry, put together a steady round of two-under and will be looking to kick-forward on day two to close the gap on his playing partner, Brooks Koepka. Josh Hill, the 15-year old English sensation, lived up to his burgeoning reputation and recorded a respectable two-over par on debut in desert.

With six birdies to his name, Garcia stated: “I’m very pleased with my round, especially with my putting. I felt like I hit the ball quite well and drove the ball nicely for the most part. I’ve always enjoyed the desert where it feels like you can hit different kinds of shots. I’m happy to get my year off to a nice start.”

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Tickets for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA can be purchased here.

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Pos.	Player	Nat	To Par	R1
T1	Renato Paratore	ITA	-8	64
T1	Shaun Norris	RSA	-8	64
T3	Brooks Koepka	USA	-6	66
T3	Jason Scrivener	AUS	-6	66
T5	Sergio Garcia	ESP	-5	67
T5	Rafael Cabrera Bello	ESP	-5	67
T5	Zach Murray	AUS	-5	67
T5	Zander Lombard	RSA	-5	67
T5	Kurt Kitayama	USA	-5	67
T5	Haotong Li	CHN	-5	67
T11	Raphael Jacquelin	FRA	-4	68
T11	Martin Kaymer	GER	-4	68
T11	Michael Lorenzo-Vera	FRA	-4	68
T11	Thomas Pieters	BEL	-4	68
T11	Branden Grace	RSA	-4	68
T11	Matthew Fitzpatrick	ENG	-4	68
T11	Edoardo Molinari	ITA	-4	68
T18	Bernd Wiesberger	AUT	-3	69
T18	Andy Sullivan	ENG	-3	69
T18	Louis Oosthuizen	RSA	-3	69
T18	Scott Hend	AUS	-3	69
T18	Nicolas Colsaerts	BEL	-3	69
T18	Lucas Herbert	AUS	-3	69
T18	Haydn Porteous	RSA	-3	69
T18	Masahiro Kawamura	JPN	-3	69
T18	Thomas Detry	BEL	-3	69
T18	Yuxin Lin	CHN	-3	69
T18	Lee Westwood	ENG	-3	69
T18	Robert Rock	ENG	-3	69
T18	Justin Harding	RSA	-3	69
T18	Andrew Johnston	ENG	-3	69
T18	Richard Bland	ENG	-3	69
T33	Ross Fisher	ENG	-2	70
T33	Shane Lowry	IRL	-2	70
T33	Romain Langasque	FRA	-2	70
T33	Sebastian Heisele	GER	-2	70
T33	Victor Dubuisson	FRA	-2	70
T33	Adria Arnaus	ESP	-2	70
T33	David Drysdale	SCO	-2	70
T33	Victor Perez	FRA	-2	70
T33	David Law	SCO	-2	70
T33	David Howell	ENG	-2	70
T33	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	THA	-2	70
T33	Thongchai Jaidee	THA	-2	70
T33	Joost Luiten	NED	-2	70
T33	Mikko Korhonen	FIN	-2	70
T33	Jack Singh-Brar	ENG	-2	70
T33	Soren Kjeldsen	DEN	-2	70
T33	Matthew Southgate	ENG	-2	70
T50	Oliver Fisher	ENG	-1	71
T50	Patrick Cantlay	USA	-1	71
T50	Tommy Fleetwood	ENG	-1	71
T50	Scott Jamieson	SCO	-1	71
T50	Francesco Laporta	ITA	-1	71
T50	Richard McEvoy	ENG	-1	71
T50	James Morrison	ENG	-1	71
T50	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	-1	71
T50	Brandon Stone	RSA	-1	71
T50	Guido Migliozzi	ITA	-1	71
T50	Jeung-Hun Wang	KOR	-1	71
T50	Matthieu Pavon	FRA	-1	71
T50	Shubhankar Sharma	IND	-1	71
T50	Danny Willett	ENG	-1	71
T50	Calum Hill	SCO	-1	71
T50	Jack Senior	ENG	-1	71
T50	Wade Ormsby	AUS	-1	71
T50	Richie Ramsay	SCO	-1	71
T50	Alexander Levy	FRA	-1	71
T50	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	RSA	-1	71
T50	Jorge Campillo	ESP	-1	71
T50	Paul Waring	ENG	-1	71
T72	Kalle Samooja	FIN	Par	72
T72	Ashley Chesters	ENG	Par	72
T72	Nacho Elvira	ESP	Par	72
T72	Sean Crocker	USA	Par	72
T72	Bryson DeChambeau	USA	Par	72
T72	Tapio Pulkkanen	FIN	Par	72
T72	Charl Schwartzel	RSA	Par	72
T72	George Coetzee	RSA	Par	72
T72	Roope Kakko	FIN	Par	72
T81	Jeff Winther	SWE	1	73
T81	Justin Walters	RSA	1	73
T81	Viktor Hovland	NOR	1	73
T81	Dean Burmester	RSA	1	73
T81	Gavin Green	MAS	1	73
T81	Chris Paisley	ENG	1	73
T81	Lorenzo Gagli	ITA	1	73
T81	Adrian Otaegui	ESP	1	73
T81	David Lipsky	USA	1	73
T81	Alexander Bjoerk	SWE	1	73
T81	Matt Wallace	ENG	1	73
T81	Eddie Pepperell	ENG	1	73
T81	Ian Poulter	ENG	1	73
T81	Erik Van Rooyen	RSA	1	73
T81	Steven Brown	ENG	1	73
T81	Sam Horsfield	ENG	1	73
T97	Adrian Meronk	POL	2	74
T97	Nino Bertasio	ITA	2	74
T97	Julien Guerrier	FRA	2	74
T97	Callum Shinkwin	ENG	2	74
T97	Jordan Smith	ENG	2	74
T97	Andrea Pavan	ITA	2	74
T97	Grant Forrest	SCO	2	74
T97	Pablo Larrazabal	ESP	2	74
T97	Joshua Hill	ENG	2	74
T97	Matthias Schwab	AUT	2	74
T97	Richard Sterne	RSA	2	74
T97	Stephen Gallacher	SCO	2	74
T97	Ryan Fox	NZL	2	74
T110	David Horsey	ENG	3	75
T110	Fabrizio Zanotti	PAR	3	75
T110	Tom Lewis	ENG	3	75
T110	Joakim Lagergren	SWE	3	75
T110	Jamie Donaldson	WAL	3	75
T110	Sebastian Soederberg	SWE	3	75
T116	Padraig Harrington	IRL	4	76
T116	Oliver Wilson	ENG	4	76
T116	Maximilian Kieffer	GER	4	76
T116	Thomas Aiken	RSA	4	76
T116	Graeme Storm	ENG	4	76
T121	Robert Karlsson	SWE	5	77
T121	Rasmus Hoejgaard	DEN	5	77
T121	Benjamin Hebert	FRA	5	77
T121	Ashun Wu	CHI	5	77
T121	Marcus Armitage	ENG	5	77
T121	Alvaro Quiros	ESP	5	77
T127	Paul Lawrie	SCO	6	78
T127	Aaron Rai	ENG	6	78
129	Gaganjeet Bhullar	IND	7	79
130	Joachim B. Hansen	DEN	8	80
T131	Chris Wood	ENG	12	84
T131	Ahmed Skaik	UAE	12	84