Francesco Molinari admitted his surprise after vaulting out in front at the Dubai Desert Classic, ending the first round with a two-shot lead.

Molinari made eight birdies, including four in his first five holes and three in a row to finish, to card a seven-under round of 65.

He is two shots in front of Sweden's Mikael Lindberg, with Switzerland's Joel Girrbach and South Africa's JC Ritchie another shot back in joint-third.

Molinari, who won The Open back in 2018 but has since fallen to 418th in the world rankings, has not managed a European Tour victory since that success at Carnoustie.

And though he always had confidence that he could produce a competitive score, he did not expect to be out in the lead at this early stage.

Round one leader Francesco Molinari is looking to claim his first win since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2019, and first Rolex Series since the 2018 BMW PGA Championship 🇮🇹#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/sXQLSk2c3x

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 22, 2026

"It's not super unexpected but I wasn't expecting a score like that," Molinari said. "Last week I felt very rusty, so I was hoping it would be very good prep for this week. 

"Yeah, putter was the biggest difference to be honest. I made some nice putts. 

"I kept the round going in the middle, when I played a couple of iffy holes but made some good pars. I'm very, very pleased with the start."

Rory McIlroy endured a difficult start and sits eight shots adrift of Molinari, having finished his one-over round of 73 with a double bogey.