European Tour: Rory McIlroy happy to keep up with Rickie Fowler in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy admitted he was spurred on by playing-partner Rickie Fowler after they both made impressive starts to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The Ryder Cup rivals returned five-under 67s in excellent early conditions on the opening day of the European Tour's Desert Swing, although they were both outshone by Martin Kaymer as the German stormed into the lead after a 64.

McIlroy started with a confident birdie at the 10th, but he parred the next six and dropped a shot at 17 before hitting back with a remarkable run of red numbers over the outward nine.

With Fowler cruising along at three under with seven to play, McIlroy ignited his challenge for a first win in Abu Dhabi as he carded five birdies in six holes to get within two strokes of early clubhouse leader Thomas Pieters.

Fowler matched McIlroy's birdies at the fourth, fifth and seventh holes before closing with a disappointing bogey at the ninth, but his performance had raised the game of the world No 1.

"I was just trying to keep up with this guy," McIlroy said. "He was kicking me on, for sure. I didn't want to let him get too far ahead of me. I just wanted to try to stay as close to him as possible and thankfully I was able to do that."

Brilliance at the third

McIlroy turned his fortunes around with a moment of sheer brilliance at the third, where his tee shot left him with an awkward lie on the lip of a bunker. But despite being off-balance, the 25-year-old managed to find the green with his second before rolling in the putt for an unlikely birdie.

"It's not a shot I would practise too much, that's for sure," he added. "But from looking like you're going to make a bogey to making a birdie, that gives you a little bit of momentum and you can go on from there and luckily I was able to make a few birdies after that.

It was a nice finish and I'll need to do more of that in the next few days if I'm to have a chance to win.

"The result was good, 67 was pleasing. How I got there in the end wasn't quite as pleasing. There's a couple of things that I need to work on if I want to have a chance to win.

"My short game was really good, but I'll need to hit more fairways. I didn't drive the ball particularly well and it's something I will need to do better.

"It doesn't really feel like I've taken a few weeks off. I've just come back the way I left off and hopefully that's the way it's going to be for the next few months."

Consistent start

Fowler insisted he was happy with his performance on his Abu Dhabi debut, just his third start since being destroyed by McIlroy in their one-sided singles encounter at the Ryder Cup last September.

"I was a little shaky this morning," he said. "I haven't played in quite some time, so it's nice to get things off to a consistent start and throw some birdies in there.

"Unfortunately I made bogey at the last but I made some good swings coming down the stretch and I'm definitely pleased with the start."

Fowler also admitted he could follow the lead of Ryder Cup team-mate Patrick Reed and add more European Tour events to his schedule.

Reed announced last month that he would be taking up European Tour membership, and Fowler said: "Definitely moving forward, that could be a possibility with the amount I could play in the future on the European Tour schedule.

"I guess I'm not off to the hottest of starts for my career, with only two worldwide wins, one on the PGA Tour. I'd like to start adding to that and make myself a little bit more of a prominent player."

Stenson struggles

But while McIlroy and Fowler prospered, Henrik Stenson faces an uphil challenge just to make the halfway cut after he failed to make a single birdie in an ugly four-over 76.

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The world No 2 double-bogeyed the 10th - his first hole - and endured a torrid day on the greens despite giving himself a number of opportunities to claw his way up the leaderboard.

"First hole of the round, I missed the drive, hit the cart path and finished up in a bush and ended up with a seven," Stenson said. "I just didn't convert any birdie chances, and made zero birdies for the round.

"I had a few things I was working on with my swing and they didn't really work out that good either. I just didn't play that good at all.

"When you haven't played competitively for four to five weeks you're always going to be a little rusty, but it's more a few things on the technical side I'm working at."