Golf: Steady start for Woods in Abu Dhabi

English world number one, Luke Donald (L) greets US Tiger Woods during the first round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship yesterday

Tiger Woods got his 2012 season off to a steady start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship yesterday, but he had to settle for second best in his head-to-head with red-hot Rory McIlroy
Woods had a two-under 70, three more that McIlroy, but one ahead of the third member of the first round’s top grouping – world number one Luke Donald.
The 36-year-old American was the focus of attention once again as he lit the fuse on a campaign, which he hopes will see him return to the forefront and possibly add to his majors haul of 14.
He grabbed an early birdie at his second hole, the 11th, and almost added another at the next, but despite striking the ball well off the tee, the putts would not fall quite as much as he wanted.
He had an eagle chance at the par-five 18th as he reached the turn, but he three-putted to go out in one-under 35.
Woods secured his second birdie of the day at the par-three fourth and parred his way in from there for an encouraging two-under 70.
McIlroy, the 22-year-old world number three, meanwhile got off to a storming start with birdies at 11, 12 and 13 to take the early lead in the USD 2.7million tournament which opens the tour’s three-week long Desert Swing also taking in Doha and Dubai
He then bogeyed the next after finding a plugged lie in a bunker and dropped another stroke on the 17th, but when he completed the inward half with another birdie he was part of an eight-way tie for the lead on two under par.
A steadier back nine saw him grab birdies at the second, third and eighth, where he chipped in, to come in with a five-under 67, and a share of the clubhouse lead with Sweden’s former European number one Robert Karlsson.
The third member of the marquee grouping, world number one Luke Donald, opened quietly with eight straight pars before birdies wrapped around the turn put him on the leaderboard.
But he dropped a shot at the seventh to fall back to one under where he stayed for the rest of the round.