It took Rory McIlroy 45 minutes to shake off the rusts of winter and emerge as a serious contender at the Dubai Desert Classic.
If there is a devilish sense of possibility in all that, it comes from where his closing burst of birdie-eagle-birdie left him after the rain-interrupted first round: in a tie for third on six under with none other than Patrick Reed.
Most will likely know by now that there is some recent history between them, all of which makes the prospect of a reunion as a pairing in either the third or fourth round all the tastier.
While they have each reverted to playing down the ‘tee-gate’ saga, that is somewhat akin to forcing toothpaste back into a tube after all that has been said here by both men on the back of an otherwise laughable encounter on the driving range.
They had rather hoped the narrative will quickly shift to chips and putts, and yet events are conspiring to keep them together. Of course, to get to such a frosty date, or indeed one with Reed’s LIV colleague Ian Poulter, who shared the 18-hole lead with the Swedish amateur Ludvig Aberg at seven under, they must first maintain their trajectories through a second round that will drag deep into Saturday because of the poor weather.
Source: msn.com
