Five-way tie at the top after Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship first round

Past champions Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were part of a five-way tie following the first round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after opening with stunning 64s.

The Ryder Cup stars, who played alongside each other at the penultimate Rolex Series event of the season on Thursday, shared the lead with New Zealand's Kazuma Kobori, South African Richard Sterne and Frenchman Adrien Saddier on eight under par.

Reigning FedEx Cup champion Fleetwood carded eight birdies and no bogeys, while Lowry fired nine birdies and dropped a single shot.

Saddier briefly got to nine under in the afternoon after reeling off nine birdies over his first 16 holes but a bogey on the 17th saw him slip back into a share of the lead.

Sterne, who finished second behind winner Lowry at the 2019 edition of this event, made two eagles in his opening round and saved his best until last as he holed from 75 feet for a three on the par-five 18th.

Kobori, meanwhile, made an eagle and six birdies in a flawless first-round effort.

There were seven players one shot further back, with Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira all producing 65s.

Ludvig Åberg made a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth, landing his tee-shot a couple of feet from the pin before watching his ball roll into the cup for an ace.

📊 How things stand after round one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship ⛳️

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— Abu Dhabi Championship (@ADGolfChamps) November 6, 2025