Koepka impresses on return from injury
Brooks Koepka plays from the 14th tee during Day 1 of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
World No 1 Brooks Koepka sent his rivals an ominous warning when he opened with a bogey-free 66 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship following a three-month injury layoff.
The Floridian (29) must finish in the top 50 in Abu Dhabi and hope that Rory McIlroy does not win at Torrey Pines next week to remain at the top of the world rankings.
But he's already got his sights set on victory after he made six birdies to share third place with Australian Jason Scrivener, just two strokes behind South Africa's Shaun Norris and Italy's Renato Paratore on six-under-par.
"It's good to be back. I missed it," said Koepka, who showed the benefits of his short game work with Pete Cowen by chipping in at his eighth hole.
"I worked hard with Pete in trying to make sure that I know what I'm doing and understand what I'm doing and can make it repeatable."
He added: "The knee feels fine."
Koepka also had time to reignite his ongoing feud with Ryder Cup teammate Bryson DeChambeau, who he's criticised for slow play.
DeChambeau used streaming service Twitch to criticise Koepka's physique, commenting: "Did you see the Body Issue? He didn't have any abs. I have abs."
Koepka waited until after his round to reply to the "Mad Scientist", posting a picture of his four major trophies on Twitter with the line: "You were right @b_dechambeau. I am 2 short of a 6 pack!"
Defending champion Shane Lowry had to dig deep to grind out a two-under 70 in the marquee threeball with Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 71.
Renato Paratore. Picture: Getty Images
The Open champion hit few fairways on his front nine but still turned in one-under-par as he holed an 18 footer for birdie at the 10th, then drained a double-breaking 40-footer for par at the 11th having carved his drive into ice-plant.
He double-bogeyed the 162-yard 12th, but birdied the 13th from six feet and the short 15th from four feet before mixing two birdies with one bogey on his homeward nine to end the day tied for 33rd.
"Probably the best shot I've hit all day," Lowry said of the 12th when he was interviewed mid-round by Sky Sports.
"I just really misjudged it and it came back and rolled in the water, which was very disappointing. But I got it back nicely and made a couple of birdies."
Ryder Cup skipper Pádraig Harrington was one-under-par with five holes to play but bogeyed the fifth (his 14th) and followed a double-bogey at the seventh with two closing bogeys to card a four-over 76.
On the PGA Tour, Zac Blair and Grayson Murray opened with eight-under par 64s to lead The American Express at La Quinta in California by one stroke from Hank Lebioda, Rickie Fowler and Scottie Scheffler.
Zac Blair 64 (-8) LQ
Grayson Murray 64 (-8) SC
Hank Lebioda 65 (-7) NT
Rickie Fowler 65 (-7) LQ
Scottie Scheffler 65 (-7) LQ
Things to know
Zac Blair and Grayson Murray hold a share of the first-round lead on the PGA TOUR for the second time in their respective careers
Murray’s 8-under 64 was one stroke shy of the course record at the Stadium Course
Tournament host Phil Mickelson sits T74 after 2-under 70
Martin Laird becomes the first player with multiple aces this season
Zac Blair – LQ (T1/64)
Hit 12 of 14 fairways, 12 of 18 greens and needed 23 putts en route to bogey-free 8-under 64 at La Quinta CC, equaling his career-low round on TOUR (2016 Sony Open in Hawaii/R3, 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson/R2, 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii/R3)
Holds first-round lead/co-lead for second time on the PGA TOUR (2017 Barbasol Championship/T27)
Making fifth start at The American Express, advancing to Sunday just once (2017/T34)
Making his 130th PGA TOUR start this week with solo-third at 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii his best result
Posted one top-10 in nine starts this season (T4/Safeway Open)
Grayson Murray – SC (T1/64)
Hit 6 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens and required 23 putts en route to 8-under 64 at the Stadium Course which included four birdies in a row on holes 15-18 before posting his lone bogey at his final hole (No. 9)
Holds first-round lead/co-lead for second time on the PGA TOUR (2018 Valero Texas Open/T16)
Tied his career-most birdies in a round with nine
Making sixth start this season while competing on a Major Medical Extension after suffering a back injury last season that limited him to 14 events. Needs 304 FedExCup points from remaining seven events (including this week) to satisfy the extension
Results from first five starts this season – T36, MC, MC, MC, WD
Making fourth start at The American Express (2017/T12, 2018/T14, 2019/MC)
Seeking second PGA TOUR win after capturing his first at the 2017 Barbasol Championship
Rickie Fowler – LQ (T3/65)
Opening-round 65 included five consecutive birdies on holes 5-9 at La Quinta CC; previous-best round at this event was 66/R4/2014 (Palmer Course at PGA West)
Is now 18-under par in his last 54 holes at The American Express (20 birdies during that stretch)
Making his third start at The American Express (2010/MC, 2014/T33)
Finished T5 at the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions in his most recent start
Chosen by Tiger Woods as Brooks Koepka’s replacement at the 2019 Presidents Cup; finished with a 1-0-3 record in Melbourne
Miscellaneous notes
Tournament host and World Golf Hall of Fame member Phil Mickelson (70/T74/LQ) mixed five birdies with a bogey and a double bogey (No. 8) to be 10 shots higher than his opening-round 60 in last year’s event
Hank Lebioda (65/T3/NT) makes his second appearance at The American Express, missing the cut last year with 70-70-68
Scottie Scheffler (65/T3/LQ) included an eagle (No. 6) in a bogey-free trip around La Quinta CC in his first start at The American Express; Seeks his fourth top-10 in his eighth start this season (T7/A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, T3/Bermuda Championship, T5/The RSM Classic)
Defending champion Adam Long opens with 3-under 69 at La Quinta Country Club to sit T49
At No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Tony Finau (69/T49/LQ) is the highest-ranked player in the field this week
Martin Laird (69/SC/T49) made a hole-in-one at No. 6 on the Stadium Course, holing a 5-iron from 207 yards for the second ace of his PGA TOUR career (2019 Houston Open), becoming the first player with multiple aces this season
In his first round on TOUR since completing mandatory military commitment for his country, South Korea’s Seung-Yul Noh posted a bogey-free 3-under 69 at La Quinta CC and sits T49
Dominic Bozzelli (67/T14/NT) got into the field as an alternate on Monday when Joel Dahmen withdrew
Mark Anderson withdrew before the start of the first round and was replaced by Zack Sucher (72/T123/NT); Si Woo Kim withdrew after the first round with a back injury (Note: Jeff Gove will play as a professional marker in his place); Nate Lashley withdrew after the first round with a wrist injury (Note: Kevin Lucas will play as a professional marker in his place)
