Who is leading the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic after round 1? Leaderboard explored

The first round of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic was played at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday, January 16. The day ended with a three-way tie for first place and 14 players within three shots of the lead.

David Ford (a), Ricardo Gouveia, and David Micheluzzi lead the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at 7-under. Guido Migliozzi is only one stroke off the lead in fourth place.

2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic Round 1 Leaderboard

Below is the Hero Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard. Only the top 50 are included:

T1 David Ford (a) -7
T1 Ricardo Gouveia -7
T1 David Micheluzzi -7
4 Guido Migliozzi -6
T5 Jason Scrivener -5
T5 Mike Lorenzo-Vera -5
T5 Calum Hill -5
T5 Ewen Ferguson -5
T9 David Ravetto -4
T9 Laurie Canter -4
T9 Daniel Hillier -4
T9 Casey Jarvis -4
T9 Robin Williams -4
T9 Johannes Veerman -4
T9 Ryan Fox -4
T9 Keita Nakajima -4
T9 Todd Clements -4
T18 Bernd Wiesberger -3
T18 Jon Rahm -3
T18 Akshay Bhatia -3
T18 Louis de Jager -3
T18 Brandon Stone -3
T18 Julien Guerrier -3
T18 Shaun Norris -3
T18 Callum Shinkwin -3
T26 Jens Dantorp -2
T26 Yuto Katsuragawa -2
T26 Ivan Cantero -2
T26 Andy Sullivan -2
T26 Richie Ramsay -2
T26 Scott Jamieson -2
T26 Matt Wallace -2
T26 Richard Mansell -2
T26 Kiradech Aphibarnrat -2
T26 Patrick Reed -2
T26 Nicolas Colsaerts -2
T26 Preston Summerhays (a) -2
T26 Padraig Harrington -2
T26 Maximilian Kieffer -2
T26 Haotong Li -2
T26 Tom McKibbin -2
T26 Thorbjørn Olesen -2
T26 Rory McIlroy -2
T26 Paul Waring -2
T26 Marcel Siem -2
T26 Daniel Gavins -2
T26 Marcel Schneider -2
T48 Ross Fisher -1
T48 Alexander Björk -1
T48 Thomas Pieters -1
T48 Angel Hidalgo -1
T48 Thriston Lawrence -1
T48 Niklas Norgaard -1
T48 Adam Scott -1
T48 Robert MacIntyre -1
T48 Rasmus Højgaard -1
T48 Min Woo Lee -1
T48 Marcus Armitage -1
T48 Jannik De Bruyn -1
T48 Manuel Elvira -1
T48 Matthew Jordan -1
T48 Dan Bradbury -1
T48 Tommy Fleetwood -1
T48 Matthew Baldwin -1
T48 Sean Crocker -1
T48 Tyrrell Hatton -1
T48 Connor Syme -1
T48 Simon Forsström -1
T48 Jayden Schaper -1

David Ford pulled off one of the surprises of the day, carding an eagle, six birdies and a bogey to take a share of the lead. Ford is an amateur playing American college golf for the University of North Carolina, where he is in his senior year.

Following his performance in the first round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Ford said (via DP World Tour News Service):

"Overall, solid. Definitely missed a few shots and want a few swings back but overall, felt good about it. I try to keep my expectations low. I know where my game is at right now and I have got a lot of people around me believing in me which is really helpful going into this week."

David Micheluzzi carded seven birdies and no bogeys for a share of first place. The other co-leader, Ricardo Gouveia, had eight birdies and one bogey. Hero Dubai Desert Classic defending champion Rory McIlroy is tied for 26th at 2-under.

About the author

Julio is a Golf specialist for Sportskeeda and boasts immense experience across sports and professions. Having practiced law for 15 years, he then moved to Cuban and International media houses such as Juventud Tecnica Magazine and teleSUR on baseball, track & field and boxing, among other sports, before taking up his current position. He even received an Honorary Mention in the 2023 Cuban National Journalism Contest.

Julio enjoys keeping up with everything that happens in the golf world, which helps him develop interesting angles for even the most mundane stories. What separates him from other journalists is that he has an eye for stats, and is proficient in both Spanish and English. His legal background helps him accurately report non-sporting golf issues such as rules analysis, contract issues, etc.

He ensures complete accuracy in his articles by only consulting primary sources, verifying information from multiple sources, and always looking for diverse opinions.

Nelly Korda is his favorite golfer due to her pure talent, while he also likes Alison Lee for her perseverance. His non-golf interests include baseball and track & field, while he also enjoys watching TV.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl