Andy Sullivan living the dream - still can't believe it!

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

ANDY SULLIVAN, winner of the recent South African Open, shot a 65 in the opening round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and then rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the way the year has begun for him.

The 28-year-old Englishman was walking on air after his maiden win, but his life would change for ever if he could add this title. Astonishingly, he was starstruck after his round and struggled to grasp how things have turned around for him. Listening to him talk afterwards was like listening to a fan.

“It was the best day of my life out there playing with these guys. It's an absolute pleasure and to be fair, it took some pressure off - but I didn't really look at the leaderboard today," he said. “I was just watching them guys play golf. It was just absolutely fantastic, and to play the way I did, as well, was brilliant.

“I'm obviously confident on the back of the win and performances I've been putting in. But to mix it up with them today was good and I think it was good that we all sort of played really well, as well, so it brought out the best in each of us. Like I say, I can't really put into words at the moment how happy I am and just to play with them guys, it's a dream come true. You watch them on the telly, winning majors, playing in Ryder Cups and then you're playing with them, and then to play the way I did, it's just an unbelievable feeling.”

Sullivan found himself a shot ahead of Rory McIlroy, the world number one, and Stephen Gallacher, looking for unprecedented third successive win in Dubai. And he was level with Lee Westwood, Peter Uihlien and Nicolas Colsaerts.

Leading the way was Bernd Weisberger, the Austrian who won twice in 2012 and who had a chance to add another title at the Qatar Masters last week. Wiesberger started with five pars before birdies on the sixth and ninth took him to the turn in two under. He then birdied the tenth before a superb run of five birdies on the trot from the 13th brought him home in 31.

Weisberger said: "It was a special back nine today. I played really well from nine onwards, really. I hit a lot of birdies. I didn't quite jump off that train really and it was nice to get to eight under par. I had a bit of problem with the pace of the greens early on and I left a lot of quite good chances short, which I didn't like really. My putting was a bit fearful, but that was down to the bad pace I had early on. Then I took two chances before the turn and then felt really comfortable with my swing, gave myself a lot of chances and took most of them.

"I've prepared well for this week again, tried to do the same things. It feels good right now. I feel quite happy with what I expect out of my game. When I'm in trouble, I know I can scramble well, which is the part you don't see right now because I have hit the ball quite nicely. So I feel really comfortable."

Colsaerts has struggled for the past couple of years after trying to make his mark on the PGA Tour. “I was in the zone all day. I was actually very average off the tee," he said. "I hit it all over the place but my iron shots into the greens were exceptional. I still felt like I left a few out there and it could have easily been ten under today.

“I haven't set any targets for this year to be fair. I'm still into the recovering process, coming back from America. I'm quite happy being here, you know, and playing in tournaments I haven't played in a while, so things getting back in shape. I feel pretty good.

“I think it's the one out of the three that probably requires the most local knowledge, just because of the greens and where to hit it. The other two courses we play in The Desert Swing are maybe a bit fairer; if you hit it straight, it's pretty obvious what you have in front of you.

“Whereas here, there are a couple of corners, especially for long hitters, there are a couple of lines that you really need to get on the dot to give yourself a good second shot in.”

Westwood defends his Malaysian Open title next week and was delighted with his play.  “I played well. I hit a lot of good shots, my iron shots were pretty sharp and I putted nicely. If I was being critical, I didn't make enough of the par fives. I birdied the tenth which was my first hole of the day.

“I feel like I'm swinging like I used to, more sort of late nineties, early 2000s, where I struggled to shape it right?to?left, and on a couple of the tee shots out there, 13 and 18, it required a pretty big hook and I struggled with that a little bit.

“So I'll probably go on the range this afternoon and try and factor that in a little bit when I need it. But you know, I was pleased out there with the way I drove the ball. I was able to aim down the left side and hit a power fade and my iron shots were sharp and I was hitting the ball a long way."

McIlroy's driving was awry but it is a measure of his ability that he only took 66 shots. "It’s a decent score. I started pretty similar to how I started in Abu Dhabi. I didn't hit a fairway until the 17th, which was my eighth hole, but I scored well for those holes that I didn't hit it so well on, then hit some nice shots and made some nice birdies on the way in," he said.

“I can't complain with 66 to start. You're not going to get the course any easier out there today and it was a decent way to start. I feel I'm playing well enough to keep it there, even from the start of the tournament. You just try and get up the leaderboard as soon as you possibly can. It's another good start here. I feel like I've started off this tournament pretty well the last few years, and it's another good one and hopefully something to build on.”

And Gallacher admitted that he has struggled this week. "To be honest, I was a bit ropey in practice. I didn't feel good, just kind of went back into my old habits. But I worked hard today. I had to think a bit more consciously about the swing and what not, which I don't like doing, but it was good in the end.

"It's a nice to way to start. You can't win it in the first day but you can lose it, so it's nice to keep in touch after the first round. I like the way I finished with three threes, that was nice.

"I hit a couple of lovely putts as well that just shaved the hole coming in. I thought it was maybe going to be one of those days where I hit it to around 15 foot and never made anything, but to make a couple at the last two, made up for it."

Image Credit - Sky Sports Golf Twitter