Race To Dubai Leader Eugenio Chacarra Forced Into Untimely Driver Change

Race To Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra struggled to find a fairway during the first round at the Abu Dhabi Championship as he was forced to play with a replacement driver.

It wasn't the ideal start for the biggest two weeks of Chacarra's career, as he looks to hold off Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy and become just the third Spaniard to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.

The 26-year-old cracked his regular driver during the Pro-Am in Abu Dhabi and the replacement club wasn't behaving as he missed every fairway on the front nine.

Despite the radar being dodgy off the tee, Chacarra still managed to shoot a two-under 70 at Yas Links with no real damage done to his Race To Dubai chances as McIlroy was just two shots better off while Reed had a nightmare finish in his 74.

"I got a bit unlucky that my driver cracked yesterday in the Pro-Am on the 6th hole, and I can't really find a fairway," Chacarra told Sky Sports' Tim Barter during an on-course interview at Yas Links.

"It's tough out here if you're from the rough. The greens are pretty firm if you attack from the rough."

Playing alongside McIlroy and Reed as the three Race To Dubai challengers went head-to-head on Thursday, Chacarra turned things around on the back nine with four of his six birdies coming home.

McIlroy was a tad cautious in his approach most of the day, as he also carded six birdies but his one bad hole cost him a double bogey as he signed for a four-under 68.

The double Masters champion is in third place in the Race To Dubai as he chases a fifth victory in a row and record-equalling eighth European No.1 finish.

After plotting his way around Yas Links, McIlroy only stepped on the gas after his double bogey on the 12th, as he reeled off a hat-trick of birdies on 14, 15 and 16 to ensure he finished above Chacarra.

By contrast, Reed could only manage one birdie in his largely uneventful round which saw him card 10 straight pars before a birdie at 11, bogey at 14 and then the most annoying finish possible with a double on the last.

Francesco Laporta leads the way after the first round following a brilliant 62 while Jon Rahm shot 65 on his return to action - he's T2 alongside Englishman Sam Bairstow who was the last man into the field following a string of withdrawals.

Bairstow finished 81st on the Race To Dubai with only the top 70 to qualify for Abu Dhabi, but with 11 players dropping out he found out on the plane over to the UAE that he'd bagged a place in the field - and he's making the most of it.