Abu Dhabi, Nov 6 (NationPress) Following his triumphant victory at the inaugural DP World India Championship, Tommy Fleetwood surged into a five-way tie for the lead at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship after delivering an impressive opening round of 64. This tournament marks the penultimate event on the DP World Tour.

Fleetwood shares the lead with fellow Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry, who also participated in India last month. Joining them are New Zealand's Kazuma Kobori, South Africa's Richard Sterne, and Frenchman Adrien Saddier, all sitting at eight under par.

Current Race to Dubai champion and leaderboard front-runner Rory McIlroy, who, like Fleetwood and Lowry, competed in India, commenced the DP World Tour Play-Offs with a score of four under par (68). His Ryder Cup teammate, Ludvig Åberg, also shot a 68, highlighted by a spectacular hole-in-one on the par-three eighth.

Marco Penge, McIlroy's closest competitor in the season-long standings, is just a shot behind at five under par.

Fleetwood, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, recorded eight birdies without a single bogey, while Lowry notched nine birdies but also had one blemish.

Saddier briefly reached nine under in the afternoon after an incredible run of nine birdies over his first 16 holes, but a bogey on the 17th dropped him back into a tie for the lead.

Sterne, who was the runner-up to Lowry in the 2019 iteration of this event, made two eagles during his opening round and finished strong by holing a 75-foot putt for a birdie on the par-five 18th.

Seven players are just one shot further behind, including Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim, and Nacho Elvira, all of whom carded impressive rounds of 65.

Ludvig Åberg made headlines with his hole-in-one on the par-three eighth, where his tee shot landed mere feet from the pin and rolled directly into the cup.

The two-time former champion Fleetwood began his round at Yas Links with a fantastic start, birdieing the first two holes and adding two more on the seventh and eighth.

A 20-foot birdie on the tenth followed by a tap-in at the 11th marked Fleetwood's third consecutive birdie streak.

He continued his strong performance with another birdie from distance at the par-three 13th and capped off his round with a birdie on the 16th, reaching eight under.

Lowry also turned in a solid performance with a front-nine score of 32, including four birdies, and added five more on the back nine, with his only hiccup occurring at the 12th.

Saddier's birdie sequence began at the second hole, followed by a streak of three birdies starting from the sixth, and he continued to dominate with four consecutive birdies from the 11th.

He briefly led the pack with a 22-footer at the 16th before giving that shot back to finish at eight under.

Sterne had a stellar front nine, turning in 29 with one eagle and five birdies, and although his back nine was a bit uneven, he concluded his round in style with a long eagle putt.