Rory McIlroy carded an opening 66 to leave the destination of The Race to Dubai on a knife edge as the Northern Irishman ended day one of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World two shots behind Peter Hanson.
The US Open Champion needs to win and World Number One Luke Donald to finish outside the top nine to snatch The Race to Dubai crown and deny the World Number One an unprecedented money list double.
While his Swedish Ryder Cup teammate equalled the Earth Course record with a 64, McIlroy was round in 66 to end the first day six shots ahead of Donald.
After the first nine holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates 22 year old McIlroy was three behind Donald and seven shots off the lead.
But the picture then changed completely on the inward half.
McIlroy grabbed six birdies, while Donald had three successive bogeys from the 14th.
It did not look the likely outcome when McIlroy lost a ball on only his fifth shot of the day and ran up a double bogey seven, but Donald was in the bushes on both the 14th and 15th and then failed to save par from a fairway bunker at the next.
Hanson, meanwhile, equalled the course record set by Lee Westwood in winning the inaugural event two years ago and matched by Ross Fisher last November.
The 34 year old has not won since making his Ryder Cup debut 14 months ago, but was third behind McIlroy in Hong Kong on Sunday.
"I think it's the best golf I've played," he said.
"It's quite a demanding course and the wind picked up a little bit over the back nine.
"I'm very, very happy with the way I struck the ball - and I rolled a few putts in."
Hanson's birdie at the short 17th and closing par five denied Scot Paul Lawrie a share of the lead after he had produced six birdies in seven holes from the fifth and then another at the long 14th.
Sergio Garcia, chasing a third successive European Tour win, is fourth after a 67.
Westwood managed a one over 73, which included a double bogey on the short 13th after he had to play his second shot left-handed from the side of a bunker.
The field, already without Justin Rose and Fredrik Jacobson, is down to 57 after Korean Y E Yang quit after four holes because of neck and shoulder trouble.
McIlroy, still suffering from a virus and awaiting blood test results, said: "It's sort of taken the pressure off. I'm not 100 per cent and there's nothing I can do about it.
"I made three silly mistakes on the front nine but stayed patient and the back nine was pretty much flawless.
"I definitely don't feel invincible, but I feel every time I tee it up I have a good chance of shooting a good score."
McIlroy, who won the UBS Hong Kong Open with a closing 65 on Sunday, added: "It was the perfect start for me and really sets me up for the next three days. I didn't expect Luke to play the way he did."
Donald said: "I hit a few loose shots. They came out of the blue a little bit, although there were a couple of times last week (in South Africa) when I had that left shot and I've got to keep working on it.
"I felt very much in control and then I lost it, but this course can do that to you. There are a lot of hazards in the middle of fairways, so you aim for one side and if you miss it you can be in the bushes."
