Eugenio Chacarra's Race to Dubai Halted by Costly Gear Failure

Eugenio Chacarra's driver broke on his 60th swing of Wednesday's pro-am at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi.

He was forced to switch to a backup club he had never used in competition.

Thursday's opening round of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship became a salvage operation.

Chacarra missed all nine fairways on the front nine.

He turned at 1-over par before recovering with four birdies on the back nine.

He finished with a 2-under 70, a score that kept him in the hunt but revealed the cost of the equipment failure.

"It was a big fight, you know," Chacarra said after the round.

"I turned on 1-over; I finished 2-under. I'm happy that I fight it. I'm happy with the fight."

He added: "I just need to go do some work on the range to find a driver for tomorrow."

The driver had been in his bag since February.

Chacarra said he knew "a lot about that face" and "a lot about the driver."

The replacement, despite being the same model, did not feel the same.

"I see a little more loft on the club," Chacarra explained.

"It started getting in my head, and I was kind of like hitting across a bit, and I hit zero fairways on the front nine."

The timing could hardly have been worse.

Chacarra entered the week as the Race to Dubai leader, trying to become just the third Spaniard to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.

He is fending off Rory McIlroy, who is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, and Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion.

McIlroy and Reed were Chacarra's playing partners for the first round.

McIlroy appeared to post a 4-under 68, which would have cut into Chacarra's lead.

But after reviewing television footage in the scoring area, officials assessed McIlroy a two-shot penalty.

The penalty came under Rule 8.1b(4) for improving the conditions of his stroke.

At the par-4 12th, McIlroy's chip had rolled back down a slope into a divot.

Before his fourth shot, he pressed his club on the grass behind his ball.

Close-up replays showed his wedge pressing some grass down, which officials deemed an improvement of his lie.

The ruling turned McIlroy's double-bogey 6 into a quadruple-bogey 8.

His score changed from 68 to 70.

Chacarra defended his playing partner.

"I don't think he improves his lie," Chacarra said.

"Obviously, the referee and him thought different. In the video, it doesn't look great, but we've been watching Rory for a long time — he's a class man and never tries to improve his lies or do anything."

Chacarra added: "I told him I was happy to fight for it, because I didn't think he improved it."

McIlroy accepted the penalty while insisting there was no intent.

"Obviously there's no intent — I play by the rules," McIlroy said.

"I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions."

The penalty kept McIlroy level with Chacarra at 2-under.

Reed struggled more severely, shooting a 74 that included a double-bogey on the final hole.

He finished tied for 56th.

Chacarra acknowledged that the conditions at Yas Links made his driver problems worse.

The wind picked up during the afternoon wave, and the greens deteriorated compared with the morning.

"If you miss nine fairways, you're going to make some bogeys," he said.

He made four bogeys total, offset by six birdies.

His only regret was the 17th hole, where he chased a birdie rather than accepting a two-putt from around 30 feet.

The 70 left Chacarra eight strokes behind early leader Francesco Laporta.

But none of his closest Race to Dubai rivals gained ground on him.

McIlroy's penalty erased what would have been a two-shot swing in the standings.

Reed's 74 put him further behind.