Rory McIlroy may have been six shots off the lead but he insisted he was not far off where he needed to be in his quest for a Dubai double after round one of the DP World Tour Championship.
The Northern Irishman arrived at Jumeirah Golf Estates with his fate in his own hands, sitting at the top of the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex ahead of an event he has won twice before as he chases a fourth Harry Vardon Trophy.
At three under through eight, all was going to plan at the fifth Rolex Series event of the campaign, but McIlroy needed a birdie at the last to get into red figures with an opening 71 as he trailed leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton.
Fitzpatrick is one of the players who can overhaul the four-time Major Championship winner at the top of the Rankings but McIlroy refused to be fazed at the final test of a season where he has a lowest finish of 12th in nine events.
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"Certainly not what I was hoping for," he said. "Three under through eight holes, thinking a solid start with some chances coming up and just started to drive the ball a little crooked on the back nine. Made that bogey on 12 and didn't birdie 14 or 15, and then an unforced error with the three-putt on 16. It was nice to birdie the last just to shoot under par.
"I've had three weeks off since the CJ Cup, so I'm trying to knock the rust off a little bit. There was enough good stuff in there, I made five birdies and hit some decent shots, just need to be a little tidier tomorrow.
"It's not far away. It's not as if there's anything that I need to drastically work on.
"Thankfully there's three rounds left, go out and shoot a good one tomorrow and be ready for the weekend."
McIlroy has long been renowned as one of the best drivers of the ball in the game, and the 33-year-old believes that will be key over the next three days.
"They have not over-seeded it this year, so it's just that pure Bermuda and the ball sits right at the bottom," he said of the rough.
"It's very rare you get a decent lie to even have chance to hold the green or even get it up to the green.
"There's a bigger premium on accuracy this year and I definitely found that out on the back nine today."
