Who drove the ball further out of Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge during the first round in Abu Dhabi

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Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge treated golf fans in Abu Dhabi to a driving masterclass on day one of the latest DP World Tour event.

Penge loved playing with McIlroy at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where five players will enter day two sitting top of the leaderboard.

That group includes Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, while Penge finds himself three shots back in a tie for 20th.

McIlroy is one shot behind his playing partner, although he is ahead of him and every other player in the all-important Race to Dubai rankings.

The exciting rivalry in the rankings has just been extended onto the course, with their tendencies to hit big off the tee emerging right away at the DP World Tour competition.

Who drove the ball further between Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge in Abu Dhabi

McIlroy said Penge should hit it longer than him when speaking ahead of the event, with their round one efforts now detailing the winner of that exciting mini-battle.

On Thursday, the Northern Irishman ranked 23rd with his driving distance of 314.5 yards, with the Englishman ranked 20th for his total of 315.5 yards.

McIlroy meanwhile ranked 34th with his driving accuracy of 64.3%, compared to Penge sitting 19th with his tally of 71.4%.

The tournament average for distance at Yas Links was 308.2 yards, with a figure of 67% for driving accuracy.

Other notable stats from the duo emerged shortly after they finished, with another intriguing battle off the tee expected on Friday.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy shares what went wrong in ‘bad’ opening round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

Tyrrell Hatton keeps pace with big-hitting duo Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge

McIlroy and Penge set the tone for their rounds from the very start, but they were to be outdone by playing partner Tyrrell Hatton.

Hatton endured a frustrating first round at Yas Links by his own admission, but still ended the day just two shots off the lead.

Fittingly, he is behind only McIlroy and Penge in the Race to Dubai rankings, and started his event with a strong six-under 66.

An exciting conclusion is then set for next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where McIlroy lifted the top prize this time last year.

He looks set to be pushed all the way by world number 29 Penge, who has three wins on the DP World Tour to his name.

And five-time major winner McIlroy, who is ranked second in the world behind Scottie Scheffler, is a 20-time champion.