There’s something about playing together that just feels right for Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry. After sharing a tee time through 36 holes at the 2025 India Championship a couple of weeks ago, playing beautifully alongside one another, the Europeans were at it again Thursday at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, where they signed for matching 64s to share the lead in the opening leg of the DP World Tour playoffs.
Lowry and Fleetwood were not the only two players to reach 8 under in the first round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, as the two Ryder Cup teammates join Richard Sterne, Adrien Saddier and Kazuma Kobori at that number. Alex Noren of Sweden and American Michael Kim sit just one off the pace as Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai stand among those at 6 under.
“Was very, very good off the tee, and I think I made some good decisions off the tee,” Fleetwood said. “Felt very comfortable with the shots that I chose and I hit. You know, putted well. I think I made a big par save on 12 and followed that with a birdie, which was, I think, a crucial part of the round if it’s going to be a very, very good round. Very happy. It’s Thursday. You can obviously play your way out of it. You can’t win it, but 8 under is a really nice way to start.”
Entering the week No. 26 in the Race to Dubai, Fleetwood started with a flurry. A kick-in birdie on the first hole was followed by another on the par-5 2nd. He made most of his noise around the turn, however, as the FedEx Cup winner added five circles onto his scorecard across Nos. 7-13.Â
While Fleetwood credited his play off the tee, his putter should not go overlooked. Continuing the best season of his career on the greens, the 34-year-old made five putts from outside 8 feet, including a crucial par save on the par-4 12th, followed by a birdie from 23 feet on the next.
Fleetwood’s inability to birdie the par-5 finisher, coupled with Lowry’s last birdie of the day, meant the two stood tied at 8 under. All four of Lowry’s front-nine birdies came from inside of 3 feet before his putter started to cooperate a bit more on the back nine. His lone blemish on the scorecard came via a three-putt from 70 feet away on No. 12.
“I was paired with him in India the first two days, and I shot 64, as well,” Lowry said. “So yeah, something about me and Tommy. But no, I just like playing with him, your friend and really good player, too, and you kind of feed off each other. It was nice.”
While Fleetwood and Lowry top the tournament leaderboard, the Race to Dubai standings still belong to Rory McIlroy. Putting a new TaylorMade Qi4D driver in the bag, the grand slam champion’s week started precariously as he was forced to play a provisional off the first tee. However, once he found his initial tee shot and saved par, McIlroy was on his way and settled for a 4-under 68.Â
“I felt like the driver was good,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, a new driver in the bag this week. Felt like that worked well. Hit some good iron shots. Felt like I controlled my ball in the wind pretty well when the wind got up there a little bit for the last few holes. Just need to hole a few more putts. I think that was the difference between what I shot today and being up there around the lead.”
McIlroy’s closest competitor in the season-long race got a front-row seat on Thursday as Marco Penge shared a tee time with the Northern Irishman for the first time in his career. The Englishman clipped McIlroy by a single stroke after a topsy-turvy start that read: birdie, eagle, bogey, bogey, birdie.
Penge settled down as the day progressed and ultimately signed for a 67 to eke his way inside the top 20 and potentially eke closer to McIlroy before next week’s DP World Tour Championship. At 5 under, the three-time DP World Tour winner this season finds himself alongside his fellow countryman Matt Fitzpatrick on the leaderboard.
“It was great,” Penge said. “I mean, obviously, what I think of my game compared to obviously playing with him today, probably keep to myself, but it was good. It was good. Rory maybe wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but yeah, it was cool to play with like a Grand Slam winner and a legend of European golf.”