Lee Westwood made light of his regular caddie's absence to post a six under par 66 and lead the DP World Tour Championship by one shot on Thursday as Rory McIlroy struggled. The Englishman's long-time bagman Billy Foster has been advised to rest his injured knee, but that did not affect the world 47, who is looking for his first win of the year. He started the opening round with three birdies on the front nine, and made another four on the back along with a bogey on the 12th hole.
Julien Quesne of France and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were a stroke behind the inaugural 2009 champion at Dubai's Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates. World No2 McIlroy had an even bigger shocker, recording his first over-par round in the tournament, a three-over 75. Danny Willett, who needs to finish inside the top-5 to have any chance of beating Stenson to the European No1 honour, shot a one-under par 71, which matched Alex Noren's effort.