Thursday 21 November 2019 14:31, UK
Rory McIlroy was handed a late confidence boost after a stunning finish to his opening round at the DP World Tour Championship.
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The world No 2 sits just a shot off the pace after an opening-round 64 at Jumeriah Golf Estates, where he capped off a strong start to the week in style at the par-five last.
McIlroy hit a magnificent three-wood approach at the 18th to set up a five-foot eagle and end the day on eight under, his career-best score at the event he won in 2012 and 2015.
"Honestly it's possibly the best shot I've hit all year," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "The wind was off the left, so it was a nice one for me to just aim straight at the pin and know that if I hit my little draw it should hold and I just flushed it.
"I carry my three-wood off the deck about 280 (yards) so it was right on the limit, but as soon as I hit it I knew it was perfect. It was right out of the middle.
"It was obviously nice to finish the way I did. I hit some really quality shots coming in which gives me a lot confidence going into the next few days."
McIlroy followed victories at the Players Championship and RBC Canadian Open with victory on the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship in August, before returning home to a new trophy cabinet after claiming his latest win at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China last month.
"We had just moved into our new house a couple of months ago but we still had not moved everything in and the trophy cabinet hadn't been built," McIlroy added.
"I got back from China, walked into our sort of game room and up on the wall were all the trophies and stuff. It's a nice reminder sometimes. All that stuff had been in storage for a year and a half, so the first time I had seen the Claret Jug and US Open trophy and all that sort of stuff.
"It's cool but it's also a great motivator to think, you know, I'm still pretty early in my career and I've done quite a lot but I still want to do so much more."
Watch the DP World Tour Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 7am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.
