European Tour: Joachim B Hansen holds early two-shot lead at AVIV Dubai Championship
Joachim B. Hansen carded a bogey-free 63 to set the pace in Dubai; 85 of the 114-man field finished under par - watch the second round live on Friday from 8am on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 13 November 2021 10:33, UK
Joachim B. Hansen holds a two-shot lead after the opening round of the European Tour's AVIV Dubai Championship, where Tommy Fleetwood also started strongly.
Hansen made nine birdies on his way to a bogey-free 63 on the Fire Course at Jumeriah Golf Course, setting a clubhouse target that was not matched on a low-scoring day in Dubai.
English duo Andy Sullivan and Paul Waring are two strokes off the pace alongside Dean Burmester and defending champion Antoine Rozner, while Fleetwood is three strokes back after an opening-round 66.
"I drove it well, I did a lot of very good things," Fleetwood said. "There were a couple of sloppy things out there that, on a really good day when you feel like you can get it going, you would rather not do. But, overall off the tee I felt pretty confident, in a good space."
Hansen, arriving off the back of four consecutive top-25 finishes on the European Tour, followed five birdies in a five-hole stretch from the fourth by making back-to-back gains from the 12th to move top of the leaderboard.
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The Dane then birdied his final two holes to extend his advantage, with Sullivan making six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and Rozner making a bogey-free start to his title defence to join Burmester and Waring in tied-second.
"My game yesterday looked solid, good warm up on the range today and had confidence going out there and it showed itself out there," Hansen said. "I loved it, no wind, perfect conditions and lovely to play in."
Fleetwood mixed eight birdies with two bogeys on the opening day and is on six under with Callum Shinkwin, Francesco Laporta, Darren Fichardt and Zander Lombard, while Bernd Wiesberger started his week with a blemish-free 67.
Robert MacIntyre bogeyed the par-five last to close a four-under 68, joining Paul Casey five behind, as Matt Wallace birdied four of his final seven holes to salvage a level-par 72.
Watch the AVIV Dubai Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 8am on Sky Sports Golf.
