McIlroy leads fog-delayed Dubai Desert Classic

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Northern Irish teenager Rory McIlroy shot an 8-under 64 Thursday to take the clubhouse lead in the first round at the fog-delayed Dubai Desert Classic.

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Rory McIlroy

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The 19-year-old McIlroy leads by one stroke over reigning European Tour Order of Merit champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden, with 60 players still to finish their round after fog over Emirates Golf Club delayed the start of play by 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Three-time champion Ernie Els (1 under after 12 holes), the second-ranked Sergio Garcia (2 under after 11) and No. 7 Henrik Stenson (2 under after 11) are among the players affected by the weather.

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain (66) is third, a stroke ahead of Gregory Havret of France and Alexander Noren of Sweden. Abu Dhabi champion Paul Casey, 2007 Order of Merit winner Justin Rose, Graeme Storm and Louis Oosthuizen all shot 68s.

McIlroy, who has risen to No. 39 after some impressive performances late last year, made nine birdies and a bogey. He has had eight top-10 finishes in his past 12 starts, and said one of his goals in 2009 was to win a tournament.

"Sooner or later, I'll be able to win one," McIlroy said. "But it's not my main priority. My main priority is just to try to get in there in contention on the back nine on Sunday. If one falls my way, then that's fantastic. If it doesn't, I'll keep trying to put myself in the position to win. Definitely, I want to try and win. I want to try and get into contention every time I go out and play."

The morning delay allowed McIlroy to sort out a few problems with his putter, and he completed his round in 28 putts after hitting 17 greens in regulation.

"It was actually nice to be late because I wanted to do a little work on my putting before I went out," McIlroy said. "I was able to do that and holed a few nice ones out there. The conditions were perfect. The greens were soft, the fairways were soft."

Karlsson's bogey-free round continued his rich vein of form from 2008. The Swede hit the ball superbly, and his longest putt for birdie was an 8-footer on the fifth hole.

"It was a solid game," Karlsson said. "There wasn't anything spectacular but I got my chances. I took most of them and I still missed a couple of chances. All in all, very solid."

Karlsson praised McIlroy and said he could make Europe's team for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales.

"He's exceptional, way ahead of most 19 year olds," Karlsson said. "If you look at the possible team for next time, there are a few young guys, including Martin Kaymer, who can make it. But I think (Kaymer) is still probably three or four years older than Rory. So, he's exceptional."