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THE GOLF COURSE

November 19th 2009, Dubai, U.A.E.: Robert Allenby’s splendid opening round seven under par put him in pole position as the first round of the Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World more than lived up to its billing.

Allenby negotiated the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course in 65 strokes to earn a one shot lead at the end of day one as well as capturing the course record score for the new venue.

“I hit the ball very well tee to green and, overall, just sort of cruised around,” he said afterwards.

“I've always admired Greg Norman and all of the golf courses I've played that have been his, I've always loved them. I think it's a great design.”

The Order of Merit contender Lee Westwood also found the stunning venue to his liking as he carded a six under par 66 to keep himself in the running.

Westwood fired three birdies in his last four holes - and seven overall - to not only tame the fabled “Golden Mile” finishing stretch but also sit in a tie for second alongside Camilo Villegas and Chris Wood.

Westwood’s playing partner Rory McIlroy, at 20 trying to become the youngest Order of Merit winner since Seve Ballesteros in 1976, opened up with a solid round of 68 to lie in a tie for fifth.

The Northern Irishman sits alongside Liang Wen-chong, Padraig Harrington, Adam Scott, and Thomas Aiken after they all went round in a score of four under par.

The other two contenders in with a chance of a €1.79 million tournament and bonus pool jackpot on Sunday, Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher, finished with scores of one under par and one over par respectively.