McIlroy opens World Tour Championship with 69 to boost bid for record-tying Race to Dubai title - GOLF PROS | FOLLOW GOLF

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy started the strongest of the Race to Dubai title contenders at the season-ending World Tour Championship on Thursday, shooting 3-under 69 to lie in third place and two strokes off first-round leader Joost Luiten.

McIlroy is seeking to claim the year-long award — crowning the best No. 1 player on the European tour that season — for a record-tying eighth time, and for the fifth straight year. He is guaranteed to do so with a victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week.

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Patrick Reed of the United States tees off on the second hole during the first round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Eugenio Chacarra of Spain tees off on the second hole during the first round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland gestures after his shot on the third hole during the first round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

The world No. 2 is second in the Race to Dubai standings behind Eugenio Chacarra, who shot 72 and was already three strokes behind McIlroy.

They were in the final pairing on Thursday and McIlroy underlined his first-round superiority on the par-5 No. 18 with a 254-yard approach to 13 feet that set up a tap-in birdie, while Chacarra laid up from the rough and had to settle for par.

“Anything in the 60s today I felt was a good score,” McIlroy said, a nod to the tricky conditions at the Earth course because of crosswinds and punishing thick rough lining the fairways and around the greens. “And sort of held it together nicely when I needed to.”

Chacarra, playing his first year on the tour, acknowledged he was at a disadvantage against McIlroy and others who “have played this course a million more times.”

“I know I need to do a couple of things better to be able to have a chance on Sunday, and that’s what I’m going to focus on,” the Spaniard said. “If I fix those, a little strategy-wise, and I can putt a little better, I think I’m going to have a chance on Sunday.”

Patrick Reed, third in the Race to Dubai standings and the other realistic title contender, failed to turn around his recent slump in form and shot 75. After dropping a shot at No. 14 for his fourth bogey of the day, the American appeared to toss his putter toward his bag in frustration as he headed to the next tee.

Jon Rahm, the champion in Abu Dhabi last week who needs to win again and hope for Chacarra and McIlroy to finish way down the leaderboard, opened with 71.

Luiten handled the tough conditions the best. He went out in 31 after five birdies in his front nine and was even par coming home, with a 6-foot birdie putt at the par-5 18th wrapping up a round of 67.

With so many points on offer this week, a win also would come with a huge reward for any outsider like Luiten. That’s because up for grabs this week are 10 places on next season’s PGA Tour available to European tour members who are not otherwise exempt.

Luiten isn’t currently one of those 10. He was a stroke clear of Jakob Skov Olesen, who is among those in line for a PGA Tour card.

Victor Perez, Gregorio De Leo, Freddy Schott and Francesco Laporta were alongside McIlroy a further shot back after their 69s.

Kota Kaneko has become the second Japanese player to win the rookie of the year award on the European tour, at the end of a season when he won the Austrian Alpine Open and finished runner-up at the Soudal Open in a two-week stretch in May.

“The first person was Ryo Hisatsune, (who) is a good friend of mine, same age, and I know him really well,” the 24-year-old Kaneko said. “So I’m really happy to be in the same category with him.”

Kaneko also had four other top-20 finishes to qualify as one of the leading 50 available players for the World Tour Championship, where he shot 74 in the first round.

See AP’s full golf coverage here

NEW YORK (AP) — Decades of success haven’t dulled Steven Spielberg’s appetite for filmmaking. The excitement that first drew him to the camera is still very much alive.

Before being honored at the Museum of Modern Art’s film benefit, Spielberg looked back on his journey from an ambitious young filmmaker to one of Hollywood’s most admired directors.

“I still have the enthusiasm that I had when I was 12 years old making 8 mm movies, little Westerns at home. That has never gotten old. I’ve gotten older, but that hasn’t gotten old,” Spielberg told The Associated Press at Thursday’s gala.

Though Spielberg has received virtually every major honor in filmmaking, from Academy Awards to industry tributes, recognition from MoMA holds particular significance.

“The Museum of Modern Art was one of the first museums ever to recognize film back in the mid-’30s as an art form. Not just as a concession or some kind of a technological concoction, but a real art form,” Spielberg said on the black carpet.

One of the most successful and influential directors in film history, Spielberg has made more than 35 feature films. His work spans fantasy, science fiction, and historical dramas, along with deeply human stories that explore the world around us.

From “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Indiana Jones” series, he has taken audiences to extraordinary places. He has also turned to history and human conflict in films such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List.” The latter won three Oscars in 1994, including best director for Spielberg.

Spielberg rarely goes looking for a specific genre. More often, he says, the stories find him, sometimes arriving out of nowhere.

“Often the movies that I wind up directing are the films that sneak up on me from behind, like an idea, like ‘E.T.’ which just came out of the blue one day,” he said.

The 1982 film, about a boy who befriends a stranded alien, became a sensation and one of the most beloved films of its era. It also became one of Spielberg’s signature works.

That instinct to follow an idea wherever it leads speaks to the curiosity that continues to drive his work and his reluctance to repeat himself.

“I’m a bit like a chameleon. I kind of take the shape of the environment that I’m standing in front of. And so my favorite directors are the directors who were able to come out of a hole each time, a different hole each time, and didn’t make the same movie in the same style again and again and again,” he said.

Celebrity guests included Robert De Niro, Michelle Williams, Drew Barrymore, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. Spielberg’s longtime friend Martin Scorsese was also there to celebrate the director. On a rainy New York Evening, Spielberg made his way to the entrance to greet Scorsese with a warm embrace when he arrived.

The evening opened with a surprise appearance by Tom Cruise, followed by a special tribute featuring Emily Blunt, Steve Martin and Martin Scorsese. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose performed “Somewhere” from “West Side Story.” Bruce Springsteen also performed an acoustic version of “Dancing in the Dark.”

The annual benefit raises funds for MoMA’s film collection, supporting the preservation and acquisition of important works of cinema, as well as the museum’s film exhibits. Chanel has sponsored the event since 2011.

In his acceptance speech, Spielberg reflected on the collaborative nature of the medium and people who have shared in his journey.

“Standing alone up here feels wrong. Filmmaking is collaborating. And when I get singled out on a night like this it reminds me that I have never stood alone,” he said.

Eve Hewson, left, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski arrive at the 18th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit presented by Chanel on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Tonya Lewis Lee, left, and Spike Lee arrive at the 18th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit presented by Chanel on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Drew Barrymore arrives at the 18th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit presented by Chanel on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Honoree Steven Spielberg, left, and Martin Scorsese arrive at the 18th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit presented by Chanel on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)