DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head-to-head between Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge at the season-ending World Tour Championship has gotten off to an extremely one-sided start.
While McIlroy rolled in seven birdies in a 6-under 66, Penge — the young pretender trying to overhaul the established superstar in the European tour’s Race to Dubai standings — struggled to a 74 in the first round on Thursday.
Penge’s birdie at No. 18 meant he avoided being tied for last in the 52-player field in the final event of Europe’s 2025 season, with the Englishman seeing close up just what it will take to get to McIlroy’s level.
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U.S. golfer Michael Kim shot a bogey-free 64 to lead by one stroke from Tommy Fleetwood, whose strong end-of-season form — after winning for the first time on the PGA Tour and then starring in Europe’s Ryder Cup win at Bethpage — continued on the Earth Course with seven birdies and no bogeys in his 65.
McIlroy was tied for third place with Andy Sullivan and Thriston Lawrence and looks set to be crowned Europe’s No. 1 player for a fourth straight year and the seventh time in his career. That would leave him one off Colin Montgomerie’s record haul.
“It was a really solid start on a golf course that I’m very comfortable on and historically I’ve played very well on,” said the No. 2-ranked McIlroy, who posted his 15th round of 66 or better at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Penge, on the other hand, was playing his first competitive round there — and it showed with some of his shot selections.
He made five bogeys in a 10-hole run from No. 5, the last coming at the par-5 14th after duffing a chip from the middle of the fairway. At least he had that final-hole birdie to cling to, even if it left Penge eight shots behind McIlroy already.
Penge, who around this time last year was outside the top 400 in the world and had just secured his European tour card, is still defying preseason expectations by being second in the Race to Dubai standings, around 767 points behind McIlroy.
To reel in McIlroy, Penge — a three-time winner on the tour this year — needs to win and hope McIlroy finishes worse than second alone, or finish in a tie for second and for the Northern Irishman to be down the leaderboard.
None of those scenarios appears likely at this point, with McIlroy displaying all the weapons — namely a brilliant iron game and improved putting — that helped him to complete the career Grand Slam this year by winning the Masters.
He rolled in two six-footers and then a putt from 18 feet for birdies at his first three holes and stayed strong as Penge, who had to deal with a bout of sickness early in the week to hinder his preparations, began to falter.
Three birdies in the first five holes of his back nine pushed McIlroy further clear of his playing partner. Even when he was errant off the tee — like, for example, at the 15th — he was able to scramble for par.
“I felt like that was probably one of the best sort of approach-play rounds I’ve had in a long time,” he said. “My wedge play felt really sharp. Had a lot of good iron shots. I feel like I don’t want to sound like I’m that disappointed but I feel like I left a few out there.”
Tyrrell Hatton, who is third in the Race to Dubai standings, needs to win to stand any chance of an unlikely title while also needing McIlroy to finish worse than a tie for eighth with one other player. Hatton opened with a 70 and was six shots off the pace.
