Rory McIlroy shares the lead with Robert Karlsson after the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
The US Open champion was among the early starts at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, playing alongside Luke Donald and Tiger Woods, and he looked in superb form in his first competitive outing of 2012 as he carded a five-under-par 67 to join Robert Karlsson in the lead.
The later starters tried their hardest to catch the pair but at the end of the first day's play the Northern Irish and Swedish golfers were one shot clear of Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet.
Robert Rock, Richie Ramsay and Nicolas Colsaerts enjoyed a steady opening round as they carded 68s to leave them just two strokes behind the leaders, while Tiger Woods is among a group of 11 players on two-under-par.
A blistering start to his round saw McIlroy card three successive birdies from the 11th, his second hole, but the 22-year-old dropped back with the first of two bogeys at the 14th. His second followed just three holes later but he was soon back up to two-under when he birdied the 18th.
Another birdie followed at the second before he picked up shots at the seventh and eighth to join Karlsson on five-under and he was generally pleased with his day's work.
"A 67 is a good way to start 2012 but I didn't feel like I drove the ball particularly well. I didn't hit it in the fairway enough," he said.
"That's something I'm going to have to work on this afternoon on the practice range. I'm going to need to hit the ball in the fairway a lot more tomorrow and over the next three days."
Woods managed just two birdies in what was an otherwise blemish-free round but the 36-year-old admitted he had struggled to read the greens.
"I controlled my ball all day and just had a hard time getting a feel for these greens," said Woods.
"I didn't quite read them and my speeds went off because I just didn't have it right.
"By the second hole I was back into the rhythm of playing, which was good," he said. "I would like it to be good on the first hole, but after a break like that it's going to take a little bit!"
Sergio Garcia had a day to remember as he hit his first-ever hole-in-one on the European Tour; but the Spaniard endured a mixed round as he carded a one-under 71, the same score as Padraig Harrington and world number one Luke Donald.