On a day when a majority of eyes were on Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and others, it was Francesco Laporta putting together the round of the day at Yas Links.

The 36-year-old Italian raced to the lead after the opening day of the 2026 Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, firing a stellar 10-under 62 to lead by three over Rahm, Sam Bairstow and Bernd Wiesberger. Laporta was 1 under after four holes and then played the next nine in 9 under.

"Everything was, like, just going like a video game, like just hitting shots straight and making some putts and just giving myself opportunities," Laporta said. "I'm very happy about that. Actually, I was struggling a bit in the last few days. So I had a lot of time on the range yesterday, and I spent a lot of time on the greens, just understand how to work around the lines and the spin because the greens, like they're pure, but they're also quick. So it works. So now it works."

Eugenio Chacarra, the leader in the Race to Dubai, and McIlroy each shot 2-under 70. Reed, who's second, is 2 over after the first round.

Before signing his scorecard, McIlroy had a lengthy discussion with rules officials over an incident on the 12th hole. His chip shot rolled back down into a sand-filled divot, and as McIlroy set his club behind the ball to see whether he could make the contact he wanted to, a piece of grass laid down that didn't come back up when the club did.

Ultimately, he was penalized two shots.

"I don't feel like I pressed down," McIlroy said. "But at the same time, I don't want the perception of, like, people thinking like I got away with something either. So I'm happy to take a 2-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow."

Only the top 50 players in the Race to Dubai standings after Sunday's final round will advance to the DP World Tour Championship next week at Jumeirah in Dubai.