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When dropping a shot late on the front nine to go out in 31 is the worst part of your round, it's probably been a pretty good day. Rory McIlroy's only blemish in Round 1 of the DP World Tour Championship on the European Tour was a bogey at the ninth when he needed par for a 30 on the front, but he got that back early on the second nine and cruised home with a 7-under 65 to lead a group of three golfers by two in Dubai.

It started with a flurry for McIlroy on Thursday. A two-time winner of this event, he played the first two holes in six strokes and was 3 under standing on the third tee box. His eagle at the par-5 second hole included a bombed second shot from 267 yards to 13 feet, and he never really looked back the rest of the day.

"Honestly, all I was trying to do was get it in the front bunker," said McIlroy. "I didn't think I had enough club to get it over, but I absolutely flushed it. It was ... [the] right edge of the green I was aiming at, and tried to hit a hard draw in there to at least try to get it to the lip of the bunker so I had an uphill bunker shot. As soon as I hit it, I felt like actually might have a chance to cover it. So it was nice to hole the putt and obviously a great way to start."

McIlroy followed his 31 with a 34 on the back that included a nifty chip at the last, leading to birdie on the 18th and the 65. He finished second in strokes gained off the tee, which is normally the neighborhood where he resides, and the only player who was better with driver on Thursday was actually his playing partner, Dean Burmester.

The encouraging part for McIlroy, though, is that he did everything else well too and almost gained a full stroke in every strokes gained category. Even in his win at the CJ Cup, McIlroy was not good overall with his iron play, especially relative to PGA Tour winners. That wasn't the case Thursday when he finished 12th in the field in that category.

After his round Thursday in Dubai, McIlroy said he's trying to play with more feel and more creativity. The evidence is in that massive drawing 3-wood he hit at the second that led eagle.

"I've always been a very visual player," said McIlroy. "I always see shots. I don't know how much the shot tracer was out there today, but people probably see me playing shots again. Maybe not quite as much as Bubba Watson, but still that's how I've always played golf and seen the game, and I just need to get back to seeing it like that again."

The best McIlroy can do this week in the Race to Dubai (the European Tour's season-long race) is place fourth behind Collin Morikawa, Billy Horschel and Jon Rahm (who is not playing this week), even if he wins the tournament. Still, to add this to his two other wins this year at the Wells Fargo Championship and CJ Cup at Summit a few weeks ago -- and steal a three-win year in a stretch where he has not had his best stuff -- would be significant for him. It would also provide a lot of excitement going into 2022 where focus will again be on how he plays at major championships.

"I guess I talked about this a little bit maybe after CJ," said McIlroy. "I think sometimes when you don't play your best, I maybe don't set my standards high enough sometimes. They are high, but getting into contention in one major this year isn't good enough for me. I've done way better than that before, and I know I can again, especially with how I'm playing and feeling like I've got my golf game back, basically. So, I'm excited for those four events next year and excited about the road ahead because I really feel like I'm on the right path."

All of that remains to be seen, but it's clear that McIlroy had his best "I'm Rory McIlroy, four-time major winner, and there's nothing any of you can do about it" stuff on Thursday en route to the 65. If he keeps that up, this is the type of course where he could cruise to a third title in the last 10 years on this golf course. At the least, after the well-rounded show he put on Thursday, the other 52 golfers in this field now have a big problem at the very top of the leaderboard.

Let's take a look at more from Round 1:

  • Collin Morikawa shot a 4-under 68 in his bid to become the first American to win the season-long Race to Dubai. He's currently T5 on the leaderboard, which is likely more than enough to lock up the title, especially since playing partner Billy Horschel shot 74 and is T45. Horschel is the best hope of any of the contenders to catch Morikawa in the Race to Dubai, but he needs to at least rise into the top 10 over the last three rounds.
  • Tapio Pulkkanen is one of the three tied for second on the board, along with Joachim B. Hansen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Pulkkanen, 31, is the No. 246 player in the world, and his best European Tour showing ever came earlier this year at the D+D Real Czech Masters where he finished T2. He gave an understated but enjoyable quote after his round. "I think I need to continue to do the same as today and see what the big boys are doing," said Pulkkanen, who will be paired with Mcilroy on Friday afternoon.
  • Hansen is trying to cash in again on a hot hand. He won last week's AVIV Dubai Championship and led the field in strokes gained on approach shots on Thursday at 3.64, which was at least a stroke better than every player in the field but one.