Guitarist Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame was playing across the street later in the evening, but during the day Ernie Els was very much the Sultan of Swing at the Emirates Golf Club as his first round of 66 was good enough to take a first round lead over the field in the Dubai Desert Classic.
Els, the only dual winner of the title in its 17 year history, set himself up nicely in his quest for a third crown over the beautifully manicured Majlis Course with half a dozen birdies and no errors as the familiar free flowing swing proved to be in fine working order.
The powerful South African decided to employ an aggressive strategy and was rewarded handsomely on a difficult scoring day, closing each half strongly with a pair of birdies to lead from European Ryder Cup players David Howell of England and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez.
Els, the course record holder with a round of 61back in 1994, had experienced the rare feeling of sitting “at the back of the bus” on his flight from Johannesburg after a ticketing mix up meant he had to switch flights to Dubai with a cramped seat in economy. However, normal service was quickly resumed on the golf course with Els doing everything very much first class.
“I had a nice time out there” smiled Els, displaying his customary amiable approach to his business. “I found my feet on the back nine and was very aggressive. I was hitting driver on just about every hole and although I didn’t hit many fairways, it felt solid.
“All in all it was a good day’s work and I’m pleased with 66. That was a good score today. I wasn’t being especially defensive, but I had a chat with Jos (Vanstiphout) this morning and we were talking about where we should go. I struck to a game plan and went with it.”
Jiménez, like Els, enjoys life to the full and he talked passionately about his career post-40 with a large cigar dangling from his fingers. A winner of five titles during 2004, the Spaniard admitted he lets very little upset him these days and so it proved at the Emirates.
“I am like good wines – I get better with age” he said. “I don’t know what it is, probably the mentality. You have to live for the moment and enjoy yourself and don’t be upset. That is what I am trying to do. I can’t remember when I was last annoyed on the golf course. You can’t allow yourself to be upset if you don’t play as well as you want.”
Howell arrived in Dubai after some frustrating weeks in the United States, but the familiar surroundings had a settling effect and the Englishman eagled the tenth from 40 feet and made three further birdies on a homeward run of 33.
“I’ve been playing dreadfully” he commented. “My game deteriorated like the weather over the three weeks out there but the greens are great here and everything is nice, familiar territory. I went back to a few old drills and all in all played quite nicely.”
Two players with their futures ahead of them, England’s Sam Osborne and Jarrod Lyle of Australia, share fourth place, one stroke ahead of seven players all sharing sixth place on 69.
Lyle, who finished three shots better than his most famous namesake, Sandy, might not have teed it up in Dubai at all had it not been for the miracles of modern medicine. In 1999, as a fit and healthy 17 year old, he was diagnosed with leukaemia and spent almost nine months undergoing chemotherapy.
He said: “That knocked me back for a good 18 months. I didn’t play any golf as I didn’t have the energy. That was part of my life and I’ll never forget it. I am just living life for the moment, talking one day at a time and just enjoying everything.”
Osborne, winner of the Faldo Junior Series in 1999, threatened to force his way to the top of the leaderboard alongside Els with six birdies and a bogey in his first 11 holes. However he went into the water at the ninth (his last hole) and dropped back alongside Lyle on 68.
Two former winners of the title were lurking close behind. Denmark’s Thomas Björn, a winter resident in Dubai and the champion in 2001, fired a first round 69 while 1996 winner, Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, weighed in with a 70.
The first round was especially rewarding for England's Yasin Ali, the club professional at nearby Nad Al Sheba Golf Club, who holed in one at the seventh, winning 100,000 dirhams, in a round of 71.
However, Japan's Nobuhito Sato collected precisely nothing by way of financial gain for acing the 15th on his way to a one over par 73.
