Swede Peter Hanson and Briton Paul Lawrie parried the punches of the European Tour's heavyweights to lead the way after the Dubai World Championship first round Thursday. While Rory McIlroy (66) seized the early initiative against money-list leader Luke Donald (72) in their fight to end the season as Europe's No. 1 golfer, Hanson fired a record-equalling 64 at the Greg Norman-designed Earth course. Lawrie produced the sort of display that earned him victory at the 1999 British Open as he tucked into second place on 65, one ahead of McIlroy and two in front of Spain's Sergio Garcia. Hanson, a member of the triumphant 2010 Ryder Cup team, was bursting with pride after his round. “I think it's the best golf I've ever played,” he told reporters. “It is quite a demanding course and the wind picked up a little over the back nine so I am very happy with the way I struck the ball and rolled a few putts in. “My ball-striking was very pure. I gave myself a lot of chances and my first five birdies were tap-ins which was nice.” Hanson started his round quietly but a sequence of six birdies in eight holes from the 10th separated him from the rest of the elite, 57-man field. The 34-year-old spurned a good chance to eclipse the course record held by Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher. “I chipped it up to about six feet at the last and missed my birdie putt,” said Hanson, “but I had no idea about the record. “It was a really hard putt, it broke hard off the right. I tried to drop it in from there and it went just a little too hard.” Veteran Lawrie ended a barren run of nine years without a victory when he captured the Andalucia Open title in March and said he still believed he was capable of improving as a player. “I probably hit more balls and work harder at my game than I ever did,” said the Scot. “I'm only 42 and have got a long time to go. “If you want to get better you have to put the time in and I've been doing that. I want to be back in the top 50 of the rankings,” said world number 163 Lawrie. McIlroy put together a stunning run of scores to climb the leaderboard, roaring home in 30 strokes thanks to five birdies in the last six holes. “That back nine was pretty much flawless and I holed some really nice putts,” said the world number two. “I just kept giving myself birdie chances and luckily enough I was able to take a few. “It was a perfect start to the tournament for me. To shoot a great score like that sets me up nicely for the next three days.” US PGA Tour money-list winner Donald is bidding to become the first player to land the orders of merit on both sides of the Atlantic. He has a lead of $1.06 million over second-placed McIlroy at the top of the money list and needs to finish in the top eight here to guarantee he ends the season as Europe's No. 1. “Rory had a great back nine,” said world No. 1 Donald.
