McIlroy shoots eight under par 64 on first day‘It was a lovely way to start the year’This was one way for Rory McIlroy to divert unwanted attention away from his good friend Justin Thomas. Whereas pre-tournament discussion at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship surrounded a homophobic slur muttered by Thomas at a recent event in
HAWAII, McIlroy took 18 holes to alter the narrative as an eight-under-par 64, his lowest score in Abu Dhabi, planted him atop the leaderboard.
It was easy to infer Thomas is still suffering the after-effects of his PGA Tour outburst as, playing alongside McIlroy, he slipped to a 73. McIlroy, in contrast, was imperious. “It was a lovely way to start the year,” he said.