Tommy Fleetwood of England plays his second shot on the 17th hole during the first round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
November 06, 2025 - 1:24 AM
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Former champions Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were in a five-way tie for the lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship after opening rounds of 8-under 64s on Thursday.
The Ryder Cup stars led along with Frenchman Adrien Saddier, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori and South African Richard Sterne — the only player in the field to have also contested the first event in 2006.
Fleetwood, who won the tournament in 2017 and 2018, made eight birdies in a spotless round while 2019 champion Lowry carded nine birdies and a single bogey.
“It’s Thursday. You can obviously play your way out of it, you can’t win it, but eight under is a really nice way to start,” Fleetwood said.
Saddier threatened to move into a sole lead in the afternoon after nine birdies over his first 16 holes but dropped a shot on the 17th.
Sterne made two eagles but also had as many bogeys, while Kobori made an eagle and six birdies in a flawless first-round effort.
There were seven players one shot further back; Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira produced 65s.
Ludvig Aberg made a hole in one on the par-three eighth, landing his tee shot a couple of feet from the pin.
However, he ended his round four shots off the lead along with Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
News from © The Associated Press, 2025