Dubai Desert Classic: Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm upstaged by unlikely challengers on opening day

David Micheluzzi, David Ford and Ricardo Gouveia share lead at 7-under at Emirates Golf Club

Adam Scott and Jon Rahm, right, during the opening round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Getty Images

Rory McIlroy struggled along with other big names at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday. AFP

Ricardo Gouveia of Portugal was among the unexpected leaders at Emirates Golf Club. Getty Images

David Micheluzzi of Australia acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green. Getty Images

David Ford is among the joint-leaders at Dubai Desert Classic. Getty Images

Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark tees off on the eighth hole. Getty Images

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood walk on the green during the first day of the Dubai Desert Classic. AFP

Given the field assembled for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this week, it was always possible there would be players who break through the defences of the Majlis Course.

The rough is malicious at Emirates Golf Club, and some of the pin positions on Day 1 were a touch mean, too. The afternoon breeze provided its customary challenge, as ever.

Three players still managed to get down as low as 7-under-par to share the lead at the end of the opening round. Although it was not the three you might expect from an assembly labelled “the strongest and most exciting” for many years by tournament director Simon Corkill.

Rory McIlroy is trying to defend his title for a second year running. Jon Rahm is headlining on his Classic debut. There are multiple major winners besides, like Patrick Reed and Adam Scott.

And yet the 65s on the first day were provided by a far less luminous trio. One was Ricardo Gouveia, the world No 405, who needed a third-place finish in his last tournament last year to save his DP World Tour card.

Another was David Micheluzzi, an Australian who missed eight cuts and had two withdrawals on his first year on the tour last season.

And the other was David Ford, an American amateur playing on a sponsor’s invite, in just his fourth tournament of any note.

“Last year was nerve-wracking, my first year out, and it’s always tough with new venues every week,” said Micheluzzi, the world ranked 225 player from Melbourne.

“I just want to look forward to every event and play the best I can, and I started well this week, which is nice. I’ve never played it before and it’s a tough golf course. Everyone is saying how tough it was. And today I played great.”

Gouveia was similarly thrilled with his work, no doubt delighted with the fact he is no longer living life on the edge, as he was at the end of last year.

He needed to finish in the top five at the Genesis Open in Korea in October to maintain his rights to play on Europe’s tour. He finished third, his best result in over a year.

“Knowing that I can perform under the gun, under that amount of pressure, it's really important, and just gave me a lot of confidence,” Gouveia said.

Ford, by contrast, is playing the game for fun at present. The left-hander is ranked sixth in the world among amateurs, and plans to turn pro in May. He was not expected to contend on his first trip to Dubai.

“I try to keep my expectations low,” said Ford, who raised both arms in celebration when his approach to the ninth – his last hole of the day – just evaded the water guarding the green.

“I know where my game is at right now and I have got a lot of people around me believing in me which is really helpful going into this week.

“I just tried to have fun. Just come out here and do the preparation that I do for college events and just keep everything really simple and keep having fun.”

The unlikely lads finished Thursday with a cushion over some of the most celebrated names in golf, with the most notable of all, world No 3 McIlroy, five shots back on 2-under.

The Northern Irishman said he felt rusty in his first round since carrying off the DP World Tour Champions and Race to Dubai titles at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.

“It was a bit scrappy,” McIlroy said after signing for 70. “It was my first competitive round of the year [and I was 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.”

McIlroy will start his second round at 12.25pm on Friday, alongside Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood.