Branden Grace got off to a solid start at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on Thursday, where he shot 66 to share third place alongside Rory McIlroy.
The world number 16 made only one bogey at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Thursday and set up for a good week in the United Arab Emirates with his opening bid of six under par.
‘On a golf course like this, anything from four and better under is a great score. The rough is thick and you just need to know where to miss it and I think I’ve done that well today,’ said the 27 year old.
He rocketed to five under after making a string of birdies on the front nine, but wasn’t able to maintain the scoring tempo over the second loop. After shooting 35 on his second nine he signed for 66 and placed himself within two shots of leader Bryson Dechambeau.
‘Obviously started off strong from the start,’ said Grace. ‘Ball-striking coming into the week wasn’t the best, so you know, did a lot of hard work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, trying to get the game in pretty decent shape.’
Dechambeau is an amateur playing off an invitation, which made his Thursday 64 all the more impressive. The US Amateur champion made a bogey at the third, but recovered quickly and was soon on his way to shooting the lights out.
‘I’m excited to be here and shooting 64 is pretty cool. I’m just glad to be here and looking forward to the next three days. I don’t have expectations. I come into here trying to play my best and, whether it amounts to something or not, I’ll learn,’ he said.
Nipping at his heels was Henrik Stenson, who set the course record of 62 back in 2006. This time around he went seven under, despite undergoing keyhole surgery to his knee only six weeks ago.
World number three Rory McIlroy joined Grace in a share of third place after peppering his card with birdies and a couple of dropped shots. The Ulsterman was happy with his six-under-par start to the week.
‘I don’t think it could get much better and it was a nice way to start. I didn’t miss much and if I keep that up for the next three days it will set me up for a good result,’ he said.
