Guido Migliozzi was pleased with his tee-to-green performance as he produced a sparkling 65 in the first round of the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to continue his strong start to the new year.
The Italian was one of the standout performers at last week's inaugural Hero Cup, delivering 3.5 points and finishing unbeaten as Continental Europe beat Great Britain & Ireland 14.5-10.5 over three days of competition.
And he took that form with him to Yas Links Abu Dhabi, carding an eagle and five birdies on Thursday to get to seven under par and sit one shot off the lead held by Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald.
Migliozzi, who started from the tenth tee on the opening morning, was particularly pleased with his hole-out eagle at the first hole - his tenth.
He said: "It's always nice to hole a golf shot, and it's been a great day of golf. I played solid from tee-to-green.
"The eagle comes from a perfect driver in the middle of the fairway.
"The wind was hurting a little bit from the left, and I just had a three-quarter solid 58 degrees and the ball just bounced a metre and a half past the pin and then back into it.
"I played great. I'm happy that I'm playing solid from tee-to-green as well. I was looking for this last week for me as well.
"It's been very important to test new equipment and new feelings on the course, and the work that I am doing and I did in the winter is working great."
