Bogey sees Aaron Rai slip back to par
A bogey at the last hole saw Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai slip back to level par after the first round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The 25-year-old carded two birdies on the front nine and the same on the back nine – but his card also contained a double bogey six at the eighth hole as well as the 10th and 18th.
He went into today’s round tied for 26th at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, in the culmination of the European Tour season.
Staffordshire’s Robert Rock was a shot further back, after finishing with a one-over-par round of 73 which saw him card four birdies but also five bogeys.
France’s Victor Perez jumped into pole position to win the Race to Dubai, carding a five-under-par 67 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to enjoy a one-shot lead over England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen.
Victory in the season-ending event would make Perez the first French player to become European number one, as long as current leader Patrick Reed does not finish outright second.
