The start of the desert swing that traditionally signified the beginning of the European Tour season, 1997 Australian Open champion Lee Westwood led from the front to win by two shots from fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick along with France’s Victor Pereze.

With three birdies in his opening four holes, Hend threatened to make a Sunday surge from his starting position of 14th on the leaderboard but stalled with back-to-back bogeys at five and six.

A 2-under back nine with birdies at 12 and 18 recovered those earlier dropped shots and saw the Queenslander finish in a tie for 17th and 43rd in the season-long points race.

Playing on invitation in Abu Dhabi, Murray began his European Tour rookie season in fine style with a closing 3-under 69 and tied for 21st.

An opening round of 5-under 67 was the ideal start to his maiden European campaign and the Wodonga native held his composure over the closing 36 holes, playing the weekend in 5-under with just four bogeys to move up 50 places to 46th in the Race to Dubai.

Hong Kong Open champion Wade Ormsby played all four rounds under par to finish tied for 51st while Jason Scrivener was unable to maintain the pace after an opening 66, ultimately ending the week tied for 59th.

The European Tour this week moves on to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic where Hend, Ormsby, Scrivener, Lucas Herbert, Daniel Gaunt and Kiwi Ryan Fox are currently in the field.

European Tour
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, UAE

T17         Scott Hend          69-70-69-69—277             €79,838
T21         Zach Murray       67-72-70-69—278             €65,379
T51         Wade Ormsby   71-71-70-71—283             €26,403
T59         Jason Scrivener 66-74-74-71—285             €17,602
T67         Lucas Herbert    69-69-76-75—289             €13,515
MC         Ryan Fox              74-71—145