Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Sweden's Alex Noren shot a six-under-par round of 66 on Day 1 of the 2016 Omega Dubai Desert Classic and leads the field by one shot.  

Defending champion Rory McIlroy carded a 68 to put himself firmly in touch, while veteran South African Ernie Els also finished on four under after an excellent display.

There are four players sitting on five under, including Peter Hanson and Rafa Cabrera-Bello, and Noren will have to produce another brilliant display on Friday if he is going to retain the lead going into the weekend.

Here is how the top of the leaderboard looks after the first day of action at Emirates Golf Club:

#	Player	Score	Day 1 Score
1	Alexander Noren	-6	66
T2	Rafael Cabrera-Bello	-5	67
T2	Trevor Fisher Jr.	-5	67
T2	Peter Hanson	-5	67
T2	Brett Rumford	-5	67
T6	Simon Dyson	-4	68
T6	Ernie Els	-4	68
T6	David Lipsky	-4	68
T6	Rory McIlroy	-4	68
T6	Alvaro Quiros	-4	68

The full leaderboard can be accessed at the European Tour's official website.

Thursday Recap

KARIM SAHIB/Getty Images

Noren put together an immaculate round on Thursday to move atop the leaderboard, as he didn't card a single bogey.

Starting on the 10th, the 33-year-old played solidly in his opening nine holes—he picked up shots on the 10th and the 17th—before turning for home and finding a flurry of birdies.

A three on the par-four first was followed by back-to-back birdies on four and five and a two on the seventh.

He finished with two tidy pars to take the clubhouse lead early on, and he was still sitting pretty at the top at the end of the day.

McIlroy's day was remarkable in that he never looked to be firing on all cylinders but still finished with an excellent four-under round.  

A bogey six on the 10th—his first—was hardly the ideal start, but the world No. 2 went under par with birdies on 13 and 14, and then, he picked up another shot after an extraordinary performance on the 18th, per the European Tour:

Some solid putting and an immaculate approach to the sixth—which he almost holed for eagle—saw him claim three more birdies on his way home, and the Northern Irishman was clearly delighted with his day's work, per the European Tour: 

"

I thought I did well, considering the start and having some of the shots I hit throughout the round. The score was probably a fair reflection of how I played. To be able to shoot something at least in the 60s today was very pleasing. I didn't have any best stuff out there at some points, but when I got myself out of position, I was able to get myself back in position and make pars and a few birdies out there. All in all, I feel like it was a good round of golf.

"

Els rolled back the years somewhat to put himself firmly in the mix near the top of the leaderboard on the first day of action.

He seemed to have re-found his putting stroke after recent woes on the greens, and he birdied six, eight, 13, 15 and 16 to walk to the 18th tee just one shot off the lead.

Unfortunately, Els found trouble on the last and had to settle for a bogey six, but it was an impressive showing from the Big Easy despite the final blemish, per sports writer Dan Retief:

"

Water at the 18th and Ernie Els just don't go together! Great to see him putting well again though

— Dan Retief (@retiefdan) February 4, 2016"

Hanson also bogeyed his last hole—the ninth—to squander the chance of finishing the day in a tie for the lead, but five birdies before the turn had already set him up well to post an excellent score.

European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke looked in brilliant shape early on as he went five under through 13 holes, but three bogeys and a double ruined his round in the last five.

The field is packed with quality for this year's tournament and already some major players have made their early move for the top, including McIlroy.

But Noren is currently the man to beat after Thursday's action, and he will hope to hold off the chasing pack on Friday.