ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Seeking a third win in his last four events, Viktor Hovland started the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship by shooting 8-under 64 and was one stroke off the first-round lead held by Scott Jamieson on Thursday.
Hovland was in the marquee group with Collin Morikawa, and outplayed his playing competitor by rolling in nine birdies on the undulating greens at Yas Links, a first-time host of the Rolex Series event on the European tour.
The Norwegian might be the world’s form player, having won back-to-back tournaments in Mexico and the Bahamas at the end of last year to climb to No.