Showing off a revamped backswing he spent weeks working on, McIlroy kept his misses to a minimum in posting an opening-round 67 and is tied for the lead after the first day of the event with Tyrrell Hatton at 5 under.

The DP World Tour Championship, which starts on Thursday at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in the United Arab Emirates, isn’t lacking in familiar names. The contenders include the major champions Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Shane Lowry.

Inside the Race to Dubai, the “race to the States” has become an annual feature of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. And with the state of play at the top of the Old World circuit’s rankings pointing to only one thing— a sixth Rory McIlroy victory —the contest for the 10 PGA Tour cards available to those not already in possession has added prominence over the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.