McIlroy in 3-way tie for lead at HK open

US Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 6-under 64 in blustery conditions on Thursday to share the lead with Alvaro Quiros and David Horsey after the opening round of the Hong Kong Open. The Northern Irishman had the worst of the early morning conditions as most of the top players in the field, including defending champion Ian Poulter (71), struggled in the swirling winds at the Fanling course at Hong Kong Golf Club. Quiros and Horsey shot their 64s when conditions improved later in the day.  “I was able to handle the wind pretty well today. This is probably the best round that I have played here,” McIlroy said. “It was a solid round. I didn’t make a mistake, six birdies and no bogeys is always a nice way to start the tournament. “I hit 17 greens and just kept giving myself a lot of opportunities and it was very nice to be able to take a few of them.” The 22-year-old McIlroy, a two-time runner-up in the past three years in Hong Kong, acknowledged he has lost a couple of events this year that he was in position to win.“That’s something I’ve been trying to work on,” said McIlroy, who blew a four-shot lead going into the final day at the Masters to finish 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel. “But you know, as long as I get myself in these positions and start winning more regularly, I think then it becomes a habit and hopefully I will do it more often.” Quiros chipped in at the 18th for one of four birdies in a bogey-free round that also featured an eagle. “I was a little bit lucky to be up here,” the Spaniard said. “It is still early days, but I expect Rory to be up there all the time.” Horsey also made a birdie at the last, hitting a 9-iron approach to 2 feet for a tap-in in his bogey-free round. Two-time champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain was fourth after a 65. Ryder Cup players Edoardo Molinari and Padraig Harrington had 70s for a share of 29th place. Westwood, Schwartzel lead by 1 shot in Sun City In Sun City, South Africa, defending champion Lee Westwood birdied the last hole to shoot a 4-under 68 and share the first-round lead with Masters winner Charl Schwartzel at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Thursday. The third-ranked Westwood holed a putt from nearly 20 feet on No. 18 for his fourth birdie. The Englishman also had an eagle three on No. 9 and two bogeys. Schwartzel unleashed a birdie blitz on the back nine at Gary Player Country Club, picking up five shots over seven holes after reaching the turn at 1 over. Top-ranked Luke Donald was the early leader on his return to competition after a five-week break, but a double-bogey six on No. 17 gave him a 70 and a tie for fourth alongside five other players.Robert Karlsson of Sweden was alone in third after shooting 69. Simon Dyson, fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer, South Korea’s Kyung-tae Kim, Graeme McDowell and US player Jason Dufner were tied with Donald at 2 under. Most of the 12-man field at the $5 million invitational event struggled through the second nine after a brief rain shower, but Westwood and Schwartzel made late rallies to top the leaderboard. Westwood set up a strong finish when he landed a 5-iron within 6 feet on the par-five No. 9 and rolled in his eagle putt. He followed up with birdies on Nos. 10, 15 and 18. “It was nice to hole that one at the last,” Westwood said. “I had it in the back of my mind that Charl was on 4 under and I wanted to be in the last group. “I played lovely. Nice to make one-putt at the last from about 18 feet because I hadn’t made any all day. But tee to green was brilliant.” Schwartzel double-bogeyed No. 9, pushing his tee shot into the right rough and then sending his third into the water in front of the green. But he had birdies at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 to come home in just 31 strokes. “Turning one over, I wasn’t happy with myself,” Schwartzel said. “I felt like I was playing better than that. And sometimes that’s what you need to kick on. I just started firing at the flags. I probably got fearless.” Playing for the first time since his blistering finish at Disney World to clinch the PGA Tour’s money list title, the top-ranked Donald had five birdies and a single bogey in a solid round through 16 holes. But he put his tee shot on No. 17 into the water on the left of the fairway and emerged with a six to drop to 70 in his first competitive round in more than a month. Dufner, the PGA Championship runner-up, had five birdies and three bogeys in his Sun City debut. Italy’s Francesco Molinari chipped in for an eagle three on No. 2 but faded with four bogeys for a 72 and a tie for 10th with Denmark’s Anders Hansen. British Open champion Darren Clarke was the only player over par with a 74.