Bhllar makes even par start, Sharma stutters in first round at Abu Dhabi

Bhullar finished the day with a card of 72, but Sharma, resuming action from his 13th hole which was fourth on the front nine, gave away double bogeys on seventh and ninth and ended with a disappointing four-over 76 in the first round.Sharma had started the round with two birdies on 10 and 11 but bogeys on 16th, first and third, with a birdie in between on second, saw him finish at even par when play was suspended early on Thursday due to bad weather.

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar got off to an even par start, but compatriot Shubhankar Sharma on Friday faltered over the last six remaining holes of his weather-hit first round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship here. Bhullar finished the day with a card of 72, but Sharma, resuming action from his 13th hole which was fourth on the front nine, gave away double bogeys on seventh and ninth and ended with a disappointing four-over 76 in the first round.

Sharma had started the round with two birdies on 10 and 11 but bogeys on 16th, first and third, with a birdie in between on second, saw him finish at even par when play was suspended early on Thursday due to bad weather. Sharma, in his 12 holes, had three birdies and as many bogeys.

On the other hand, Bhullar, coming out for his first start since the win on the Indian PGTI Tour in December, began with eight pars and a bogey on the front nine to finish the day with an even par 72 that included two birdies and equal number of bogeys. Bhullar took a lot of positives from the start here.

''Not the best start which I wanted, but coming here I was a bit stressed out because of my driving stats, because I did not drive the ball well last year. But I drove the ball really well (here). Before that there were a lot of technical things which I was trying to trying to get used to,'' he said.

''I think it's just a beginning of the season. I'm really excited to play the whole season on the European tour this year.'' Rory McIlroy continued his tradition of starting the new year on a strong note as he produced his lowest-ever round at the event. McIlroy fired a flawless 64 to set the early clubhouse target at eight-under par and open up a one shot lead over nearest challenger Tyrrell Hatton.

Fabrizio Zanotti was a single stroke further back after starting with a sparkling 66, one shot ahead of Romain Langasque and Rafa Cabrera Bello in a tie for fourth.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)