Italian Francesco Molinari fired eight birdies as well as one bogey to close with a 7-under 65 and takes a two-stroke lead after a windy day at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic
Molinari last won on the DP World Tour at the 2018 Open Championship in Carnoustie. He made the cut at last week’s Dubai Invitational and finished T47.
“Not super unexpected, but I wasn’t expecting a score like that,” said Molinari. “Last week I felt very rusty, so I was hoping it would be very good prep for this week.
“Putter was the biggest difference to be honest. Made some nice putts. Kept the round going in the middle where played a couple of iffy holes and made some good pars. Obviously very, very pleased with the start.
“It’s tricky, but I did a good job of staying in the moment. Like we always say, not get too flustered one way or the other, and at the end of the day, obviously you add them up and it’s pretty good.”
"Phenomenal from Molinari!"
A 65 in tough course conditions sees @F_Molinari shoot his lowest ever round at Emirates Golf Club. The Italian leads the way. #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/F3Z7GDmLQ1
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 22, 2026
Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg lies in solo second place after making an eagle at the par-5 3rd as well as four birdies and one bogey to close with a 67.
Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach fired an eagle, at the par-5 10th, three birdies and one bogey for a 68 and a share of third place at 4-under alongside South African JC Ritchie who also eagled the 10th and added five birdies, one bogey and a double bogey at the par-4 6th.
Play was suspended due to darkness at 5.50pm with nine players still on the course.
Related: Inverness Immersion
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MOLINARI, Francesco | -7 | 65 |
| 2 | LINDBERG, Mikael | -5 | 67 |
| 3 | GIRRBACH, Joel | -4 | 68 |
| | RITCHIE, JC | -4 | 68 |
| 5 | KATSURAGAWA, Yuto | -3 | 69 |
| | DING, Wenyi | -3 | 69 |
| | ELVIRA, Manuel | -3 | 69 |
| | PAVAN, Andrea | -3 | 69 |
| | VEERMAN, Johannes | -3 | 69 |
| | VON DELLINGSHAUSEN, Nicolai | -3 | 69 |
| REED, Patrick | -3 | 69 | |
| 12 | JAMIESON, Scott | -2 | 70 |
| | FORREST, Grant | -2 | 70 |
| | LINDELL, Oliver | -2 | 70 |
| | HATTON, Tyrrell | -2 | 70 |
| | LOWRY, Shane | -2 | 70 |
| | MAAS, Christiaan (AM) | -2 | 70 |
| | FERGUSON, Ewen | -2 | 70 |
| | MICHELUZZI, David | -2 | 70 |
| | OLESEN, Thorbjørn | -2 | 70 |
| | HILLIER, Daniel | -2 | 70 |
| | PEPPERELL, Eddie | -2 | 70 |
| | CAMPILLO, Jorge | -2 | 70 |
| 24 | SCHNEIDER, Marcel | -1 | 71 |
| | CABRERA BELLO, Rafa | -1 | 71 |
| SCRIVENER, Jason | -1 | 71 | |
| | WU, Ashun | -1 | 71 |
| | SULLIVAN, Andy | -1 | 71 |
| | LOMBARD, Zander | -1 | 71 |
| | KO, Jeong weon | -1 | 71 |
| | HØJGAARD, Nicolai | -1 | 71 |
| | SCHOTT, Freddy | -1 | 71 |
| | DU PLESSIS, Hennie | -1 | 71 |
| | HOLLICK, Michael | -1 | 71 |
| | ARMITAGE, Marcus | -1 | 71 |
| | MCKIBBIN, Tom | -1 | 71 |
| | LEMKE, Niklas | -1 | 71 |
| | SCHAPER, Jayden | -1 | 71 |
| | CANTERO, Ivan | -1 | 71 |
| | COUVRA, Martin | -1 | - |
| 41 | GOUVEIA, Ricardo | Par | 72 |
| | KOBORI, Kazuma | Par | 72 |
| | LUITEN, Joost | Par | 72 |
| | VAILLANT, Tom | Par | 72 |
| | LAGERGREN, Joakim | Par | 72 |
| | JOHNSTON, Ryggs | Par | 72 |
| | OTAEGUI, Adrian | Par | 72 |
| | SYME, Connor | Par | 72 |
| | WINTHER, Jeff | Par | 72 |
| | FOX, Ryan | Par | 72 |
| SENIOR, Jack | Par | 72 | |
| | KRUYSWIJK, Jacques | Par | 72 |
| | MERONK, Adrian | Par | 72 |
| | FISHER, Ross | Par | 72 |
| | SCHMIDT, Ben | Par | 72 |
| | HARRINGTON, Padraig | Par | 72 |
| | SIEM, Marcel | Par | 72 |
| | FRITTELLI, Dylan | Par | 72 |
| | DEL REY, Alejandro | Par | 72 |
| | PUIG, David | Par | - |
| 61 | HILL, Calum | +1 | 73 |
| | DETRY, Thomas | +1 | 73 |
| | CANTER, Laurie | +1 | 73 |
| | ELVIRA, Nacho | +1 | 73 |
| | MCILROY, Rory | +1 | 73 |
| | FLEETWOOD, Tommy | +1 | 73 |
| | GUERRIER, Julien | +1 | 73 |
| | JOHNSTON, Andrew | +1 | 73 |
| | HOVLAND, Viktor | +1 | 73 |
| | DANTORP, Jens | +1 | 73 |
| | LANGASQUE, Romain | +1 | 73 |
| | HIDALGO, Angel | +1 | - |
| 73 | WIESBERGER, Bernd | +2 | 74 |
| | FANG, Ethan (AM) | +2 | 74 |
| | LACROIX, Frederic | +2 | 74 |
| | RAMSAY, Richie | +2 | 74 |
| | NIEMANN, Joaquin | +2 | 74 |
| | NAIDOO, Dylan | +2 | 74 |
| | JARVIS, Casey | +2 | 74 |
| | PEREZ, Victor | +2 | 74 |
| | MORRISON, James | +2 | 74 |
| | BRADBURY, Dan | +2 | 74 |
| | RAVETTO, David | +2 | 74 |
| | VAN DRIEL, Darius | +2 | 74 |
| | JOHNSON, Dustin | +2 | 74 |
| | STERNE, Richard | +2 | 74 |
| | DEAN, Joe | +2 | 74 |
| | COUSSAUD, Ugo | +2 | 74 |
| | SHARMA, Shubhankar | +2 | - |
| 90 | AYORA, Angel | +3 | 75 |
| | GAVINS, Daniel | +3 | 75 |
| | HOSHINO, Rikuya | +3 | 75 |
| | WARING, Paul | +3 | 75 |
| | PARATORE, Renato | +3 | 75 |
| | LAW, David | +3 | 75 |
| | SANDHU, Yuvraj | +3 | 75 |
| | GUMBERG, Jordan | +3 | 75 |
| | LARRAZÁBAL, Pablo | +3 | 75 |
| | CROCKER, Sean | +3 | 75 |
| | SÖDERBERG, Sebastian | +3 | 75 |
| FITZPATRICK, Alex | +3 | 75 | |
| | NEERGAARD-PETERSEN, Rasmus | +3 | - |
| | ROZNER, Antoine | +3 | - |
| 104 | STONE, Brandon | +4 | 76 |
| | LEE, Junghwan | +4 | 76 |
| | LAWRENCE, Thriston | +4 | 76 |
| | NORGAARD, Niklas | +4 | 76 |
| | FICHARDT, Darren | +4 | 76 |
| | MANASSERO, Matteo | +4 | 76 |
| | APHIBARNRAT, Kiradech | +4 | 76 |
| | WILLETT, Danny | +4 | 76 |
| | CELLI, Filippo | +4 | 76 |
| | ROBINSON THOMPSON, Brandon | +4 | 76 |
| | BAIRSTOW, Sam | +4 | 76 |
| | STRYDOM, Ockie | +4 | - |
| 116 | CLEMENTS, Todd | +5 | 77 |
| | KINHULT, Marcus | +5 | 77 |
| | JORDAN, Matthew | +5 | 77 |
| | OLESEN, Jacob Skov | +5 | 77 |
| | LAPORTA, Francesco | +5 | - |
| 121 | SKAIK, Ahmad | +6 | 78 |
| | SMYLIE, Elvis | +6 | 78 |
| | CHACARRA, Eugenio | +6 | 78 |
| 124 | NORRIS, Shaun | +8 | 80 |
| | MIGLIOZZI, Guido | +8 | 80 |
| 126 | STEINLECHNER, Maximilian | +12 | - |
