When the Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship were jointly inaugurated in 2009, Lee Westwood bestrode the field like – to use his phrasing from the time – a bully.
The manner of his six-shot win back then left a lingering feeling that he was capable of going on to dominate for years to come. Or at least perennially feature prominently in the conversation in the climax to the European Tour season.
In the six years since, though, the Englishman has not managed to etch his name on either trophy again. In the past four years, in fact, the inscriber has only had call to spell out either “Rory McIlroy” or “Henrik Stenson” on each.
And yet, despite the duopolisation of the tour’s top honours in recent times by McIlroy and Stenson, Westwood can still play a bit, too.
He proved as much with a sparkling six-under-par 66 on Thursday to top the leaderboard at Jumeirah Golf Estates at the end of Round 1.
See more on the DP World Tour Championship:
• In pictures: Willett, Garcia, Westwood and McIlroy tackle Earth Course
• Race to Dubai: How did Stenson, Willett, Noren and McIlroy do on Day 1?
• Round 1: Rory McIlroy gets his toes wet but Sergio Garcia on the charge
• Round 2 tee times: Andy Sullivan and Rory McIlroy out first
“I’ve had quite a few good results here other than the win, and played pretty well in the desert,” Westwood said. “I’ve been looking forward to this week.”
The Englishman was keen to point out after his round that the fact there were only five matches out after his and Bernd Wiesberger’s 11.50am tee-time proves he still ranks among the best in Europe. Even though 2009 represented his pinnacle of achievement, he is hardly washed up.
“I’m 12th on the money list, so it’s been a fairly decent year,” he said. “A good week will make it a very good year.”
He has every reason to feel confident of success around Earth Course this time, too. His memories of it rank among the best of his career, after all.
He said his win in 2009 was “maybe even the best performance of my career”, knowing that he needed to win to beat McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, “and did that by six and pretty much dominated the field over the weekend. It’s right up there.
“Any time you play a golf course that you’ve got good memories on and you’ve played well on in the past, you remember certain shots you’ve hit and it helps with certain flags they put out.
“You get familiar with the golf course, certain flags, and the breeze will be blowing from a certain direction. You know you don’t want to miss it in certain spots, and you learn that through years of playing.”
For his part, Stenson endured a curiously uneventful start to his bid to win this tournament for a third time in four years.
The Swede, who leads the Race to Dubai, managed just one birdie and one bogey over his opening 18 holes. He still has designs on being in possession of the Tour Championship mace, as well as the Claret Jug he won in July, by the time he celebrates Christmas next month.
“I’m going skiing with the kids, so I don’t think I’ll bring the trophies, but it would be nice to have them both back home,” Stenson said. “I’m hanging in there. I’m trying my hardest, don’t you worry.”
The Swede trails Danny Willett, his nearest challenger in the Race to Dubai, by one shot, ahead of the start of Round 2.
“It is always nice to get off to a flyer but if you keep kind of nosing on and shooting better each day up the leaderboard, and come Sunday, you’re never going to be too far off,” Willett said after his opening round of 71.
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