American amateur David Ford manoeuvred himself to the top of the leaderboard after day one of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic with an opening round of seven-under-par 65.
Ford earned an exemption into the $9 million Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour by finishing the autumn portion of the PGA Tour University rankings as Number One. This is the fourth consecutive year the top-ranked player has been invited to play in the oldest professional event outside continental Europe on the
DP World Tour.
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Currently ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Ford commenced his second start on the DP World Tour with an eagle on the 10th, his opening hole. Four further gains on his opening nine holes, including 16, 17, and 18, with just one blemish on the card, saw him make the turn in five-under-par.
The 22-year-old then continued his birdie run on the first and second holes of the Majlis to reach seven-under-par, where he would finish the day.
“It was great,” said Ford. “I got a couple of putts to fall that I didn’t know were going to go in and hit a lot of good iron shots. I love where the pins were set up today. I felt like a lot of them fit my eye.”
Ford is following in the footsteps of fellow PGA Tour University players Ludvig Åberg and Michael Thorbjornsen, who both played in this event and made the cut in 2023 and 2024.
Both of those players went on to finish their college careers number one in the PGA Tour University Ranking and earned PGA Tour membership, with Åberg going on to win the Omega European Masters and RSM Classic, and earn a Ryder Cup captain’s pick in his first season
as a professional. Something that Ford can draw inspiration from.
“The plan right now is to turn pro in May after the National Championship. Things could change. But yeah, right now, from the outside looking in, I think just planning to turn pro in May. Until then, just play a lot of golf, hang out with the team, and have a lot of fun.”
Ford is joined at the top of the leaderboard after Round One alongside Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and Australian David Micheluzzi. Defending champion and four-time winner of the event, Rory McIlroy, opened up with a two-under-par. Meanwhile, two-time Major Champion Jon Rahm was one better on three-under.
Main Image: David Cannon / Getty Images
