Rory McIlroy described his return to competitive action as “a bit scrappy” after kicking off his 2025 campaign with a two-under-par 70 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irishman spoke pre-tournament about how he had been “working on having fun” during two months off, which included a trip to New Zealand and taking in a Borussia Dortmund game.
Making his first start since November, the World Number Three mixed four birdies with two bogeys at Emirates Golf Club.
“Yeah, pretty scrappy,” he said. “Actually I felt I played probably better the first eight holes where I was one over compared to the last ten where I was three under.
“It was a bit scrappy. First competitive round of the year. First competitive round in a while. A little uncomfortable over some shots. Definitely not as comfortable as I was in practice and coming in here.
“But it's nice to get a card in your hand. It sort of exposes the things that you need to work on. I got it around today. I got it around and got it in in a couple under, which is nice, and didn't put myself out of the tournament, which is the main thing.”
Starting on the back nine, McIlroy birdied his opening hole from ten feet but bogeyed the 12th after a wayward approach and dropped another shot after driving into water at the 14th.
An up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the par-five 18th saw him turn in level par, with birdies from nine feet at the second and a chip-in on the seventh keeping McIlroy in contention.
“I think it's a great set-up,” he added. “It obviously tests you off the tee. But I think more so the approach shots because I felt like the hole locations today were pretty tricky. They were tucked in some corners, and you're getting up there, and usually the way this course is set up, if you miss it a little bit, you're going to be okay.
“But short-side yourself here now, and it's really difficult to get up and down. So that sort of plays into your mind as you're over your approach shots, and then if you do miss a green, it's obviously very tricky.
“I did a good job of scrambling today. I made a lot of key up-and-downs. Bonus of a chip-in on seven. But I don't want to have to rely on my short game the rest of the week like I did today.”
