DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman were cruising in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Then they came to their final stretch of holes.
McIlroy bogeyed three of his last four to shoot 1-under 71 Thursday and Harman, the British Open champion who also started at No. 10, finished bogey-par-double to close on the same score.
They were four strokes off the clubhouse lead held by Li Haotong of China midway through Day 1 of one of the marquee events of the season on the European tour.
McIlroy, a three-time winner of the tournament, birdied five of his first 11 holes to be on the leaderboard at 4 under before he hit problems in the tough final holes of the front nine.
At No. 6, he missed a par putt from inside 4 feet. At No. 7, he duffed his chip from just off the green and couldn’t save par from 30 feet.
He completed a hat trick of bogeys when he missed the eighth green from the middle of the fairway, was short again with his chip from the rough and missed a par putt from 10 feet.
Even No. 9, his final hole, involved some slight trauma. McIlroy drove into a bunker then left himself an up-and-down from 21 yards, which he just about made when his par putt squeezed into the right of the cup, prompting a sigh of relief from the four-time major champion.
Harman’s round was damaged by a 6 on the par-4 9th that came after he hit his second shot out of the trees and into the water running down the left of the hole. The American had been on 4 under after 12 holes.
Harman is playing in his first European tour event not co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour, with his victory at the Open in Hoylake giving him more freedom on his schedule to play overseas.
Li, the Dubai Desert Classic champion in 2018 when he held off McIlroy down the stretch, birdied his last hole to shoot 67 and break free from a group on 4 under, continuing his career rebound after finishing last year with 14 missed cuts and two withdrawals in his last 16 events.
“Yeah, it happens. Just golf,” he said of his form in 2023. “I don’t know — hopefully doesn’t happen again.”
Li tied for 14th last week at the Dubai Invitational, the first event in 2024.
Adrian Meronk, Nicolai Hojgaard, Richard Mansell and Soren Kjeldsen were tied for second place on 4 under.
