Henrik Stenson remained on course to wrap up the Race to Dubai crown as Rory McIlroy endured a torrid opening day of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Leaderboard DP World Tour Championship Stenson failed to make much happen on the greens at the Jumeirah Golf Estates as he ground out 16 pars, one birdie and a bogey in a workmanlike 72, while Lee Westwood set the early pace on six under after a superb 66. Lee Westwood leads the way after opening with a 66 Danny Willett, Stensons main threat in the race to be crowned European No 1, opened with an erratic 71 to edge one ahead of the Swede, but defending champion McIlroy is tied for 55th in the elite 60-player field following a 75 - his worst score in 29 rounds over the Earth Course. Westwood, still rattled after being denied a debut in next weeks World Cup of Golf, provided an excellent riposte as he played some of his best golf of the season on one of his favourite courses. Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson on the first tee The 43-year-old picked up an early birdie at the 583-yard second and added three in four holes around the turn before dropping his only shot of the day at the 12th.But the 2009 champion bounced back with birdies at the next two holes, and his assured putting earned him another at the 17th which took him into the outright lead ahead of Nicolas Colsaerts and Julien Quesne, who birdied four of the last five holes to vault up the leaderboard. Westwood carded seven birdies to hit the front on six under Sergio Garcia is a stroke further adrift after a bad mistake at the 16th cost him the outright lead having stormed to six under with three birdies in four holes from the eighth before he made only the second eagle of the first round at the 14th. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price But the Spaniard dumped his approach to the tricky 16th green into the water and ran up a double-bogey six which dropped him into a tie for fourth along with Joost Luiten and Francesco Molinari, while Victor Dubuisson slipped from five under to two under with bogeys at each of the final three holes. The four contenders for the overall Race to Dubai title all had their struggles on day one, none more so than McIlroy as he bogeyed three of the first six holes and dropped another shot after driving into the desert scrub at the 10th. Rory McIlroy fired his worst score in 29 rounds in the event He finally got a birdie putt to drop at the 14th and followed it with another at 15, but he undid that recovery work by blocking his second to 16 and finding the edge of the hazard, from where he needed two attempts to splash onto the green.McIlroy did at least finish on a positive note with a birdie at the last, but his very slim chances of retaining his European No 1 title effectively ended after 10 holes. Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson struggled to make much happen at the DP World Tour Championship, making just one birdie in a level-par 72 Stenson remains the man to beat despite being far from his best, and he admitted afterwards that average was a fair assessment of his opening 72 in which he parred the final 11 holes.Willett, who trails the Open champion by close to 300,000 points in the standings, got on a nice run after he hit back from an early bogey with three birdies in four holes before a tough back-nine 37 left him five behind Westwood. Danny Willett offset four birdies with three bogeys And the in-form Alex Noren, third in the Race to Dubai, put together a similar grafting round to Stenson, making two birdies and one bogey in a solid 71.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Race to Dubai contenders Dubai leaderboard Golf live on Sky Sports 4 European Tour Schedule Cheap Shoes Black Friday . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Buy Shoes Black Friday . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Fake Shoes Black Friday . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph.On-loan Norwich City striker Dieumerci Mbokani says he no longer wants to play for Congo after unfair treatment following the Brussels terror attacks. The 30-year-old escaped unhurt from Zaventem Airport on March 22 and said he was too traumatised to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo for two African Nations Cup qualifiers.He missed the home and away legs against Angola but team-mate Cedric Bakambu, who plays for Spanish club Villarreal, was booked on the same plane and arrived in Kinshasa the next day after taking an alternative flight. Congolese Football Federation (CFF) president Constant Omari, who is also a FIFA executive committee member, told a French radio station that Mbokani faces a possible sanction because he did not arrive for the games.But Mbokani told Sky Sports News HQ: There wasnt an agreement with me and Congo like there was with me and Norwich. Norwich knew where I was coming from and with Congo it was a misunderstanding.I was caught up in current events which led to this current situation and I think it might be the best time to stop playing international football, thats my stance on it.In normal circumstances of course I want to play for them but in exceptional circumstances I was disappointed they couldnt see where I was coming from. Villarreals Cedric Bakambu travelled to Congo despite being at Brussels airport And he added on Congolese radio: I was at Brussels airport at the timee of the attacks.dddddddddddd Immediately after, I called the vice-president Theo Binamungu and he promised to call me but, since that day, no one called me, not even a message of support and encouragement from what happened to me.I stayed in Brussels with my family, which I almost lost in the attacks. I asked my team to give me a few days of rest; time for me to recover from the trauma. Someone from the Congolese tried to make me travel to Kinshasa.But CFF president Omari told Sky Sports News HQ: He hasnt been in touch directly with the CFF to say hes quitting international football. Ive only read the reports in the press like everyone else.Its not for Mbokani to quit international football. You cant just get up in the morning and decide youre not playing for your country anymore. Its up to the national selectors if they want to pick him.No door has been closed but if he wants to play international football again then hed have to apologise and explain his actions. Mbokani has shown disrespect for the national side over the situation.Mbokani shouldnt have been caught up in the terror attacks since the ticket the FA had bought for him was to fly 24 hours before. But he decided to change the ticket, without explaining why. If he had respected the ticket the national team had sent, he would have arrived.The national coordinator did call back, Mbokani picked up, heard the voice, then hung up and hasnt been in touch again since. Also See: Norwich video Norwich fixtures Norwich stats Get a ￡10 free bet ' ' '