Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald fired a 64 to take the lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Champ.

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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates Europe captain Luke Donald dismissed many players on his Ryder Cup team by shooting an 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday.

Donald rolled in a 4-foot putt on No. 9 on his final hole to cap a four-game birdie streak and have nine in total on his card at the start of one of the top events on the DP World Tour schedule, and the first in 2023 .

The 45-year-old Englishman’s last title was in 2012, when he was the top-ranked golfer in the world, spending a combined 56 weeks as No. 1 in 2011-12 and regular winners on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now ranked No. 541, Donald’s name rarely appears on the leaderboards but his profile was raised by taking the Ryder Cup captaincy for the tournament against the United States outside Rome in September.

Full-field scores from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

Win at Yas Island Links this week and he might have a chance to become playing captain.

It was 1975, I think, the last time that happened, Donald said, smiling. No, we are far from that.

However, the likes of Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood players expected to make the European team at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club could not stick with Donald on a day of lower scores in the morning starters before the wind picked up.

Guido Migliozzi an Italian with a chance to make the Ryder Cup team and Australia’s Jason Scrivener shot a 65 and one stroke off the lead. Seamus Power, an Irishman who also has Ryder Cup hopes, had a 66 and is alone in fourth place.

Lowry, the highest-ranked player in the field, and junior ItalianFrancesco Molinari, coming off a good week at the Hero Cup last week, were in a group at 5 under par after 67s.

Fleetwood, playing on his 32nd birthday, shot 66 as did Henrik Stenson, playing in his first European tour event since losing the Ryder Cup captaincy to join LIV Golf six months ago ago.

Lee Westwood carded a 69 while fellow LIV golfer Patrick Reed shot an even-par 72 to lie eight shots behind Donald, who said he wasn’t surprised to go so low.

It’s pretty good for my eyes, he said. It’s not too tight on the tee. You have to pick some good lines.

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