Lee Junghwan Tied for 104th...Worries About Missing the Cut

4-Over Par in Hero Dubai Desert Classic Round 1
Double Bogey on 4th Hole After Tee Shot Into Rough Proves Costly
Molinari Leads, McIlroy Tied for 61st

It was an uneasy start for Jung Hwan Lee.

On January 21 (local time), at the Emirates Golf Club (par 72, 7,439 yards) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during the first round of the DP World Tour Hero Dubai Desert Classic (total prize money of 9 million dollars), he recorded two birdies, four bogeys, and one double bogey. Jung Hwan Lee shot a 4-over-par 76 and fell to a tie for 104th place out of 126 players.

Jung-Hwan Lee performed poorly, tying for 104th place in the first round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Photo by KPGA

Starting from the 10th hole, Jung Hwan Lee exchanged two birdies and two bogeys over his first 12 holes, struggling to reduce his score. On the 4th hole (par 3), his tee shot landed in the rough, resulting in a double bogey, and consecutive bogeys on the 6th and 7th holes pushed him down the leaderboard.

Francesco Molinari (Italy) carded eight birdies and one bogey. With a 7-under-par 65, he took the lead by two strokes over Michael Lindberg (Sweden), who shot a 5-under-par 67. Molinari has recorded six career wins on the DP World Tour. Patrick Reed (United States), a member of LIV Golf, was tied for 5th with a 3-under-par 69, while Tyrrell Hatton (England), Shane Lowry (Ireland), and others were tied for 12th with a 2-under-par 70.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), a strong favorite to win, posted three birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey for a 1-over-par 73. World No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood (England), last week's Dubai Invitational winner Nacho Elvira (Spain), and LIV Golf member Dustin Johnson (United States) were among those tied for 61st.