Francesco Laporta Leads Abu Dhabi 2026 With a 62: Can He Hold On?

Francesco Laporta shot a 10-under 62 on Thursday to lead the 2026 Abu Dhabi Championship by three shots at Yas Links. Good round. But history says don’t get carried away. Since 2016, only 5 of 28 players who led a DP World Tour event by three or more after 18 holes went on to win, and Laporta has never won on this tour in 195 starts.

Jon Rahm, Bernd Wiesberger, and Sam Bairstow sit three back at 7 under. Rory McIlroy signed for a 70 after a two-shot penalty for improving his lie on the 12th, which leaves him eight behind. That matters a lot more for the Race to Dubai than for Laporta.

What happened in round one at Yas Links

Laporta’s 62 was the round of the day in the 70-man field that opens the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The Associated Press reported that he missed a birdie putt of about six feet on the 18th that would have made it a 61. He still walked off three clear.

Ten under is the lowest Laporta has gone in a single round on the DP World Tour since the 2016 season, according to our own DP World Tour database. His previous best was a 62 at 9 under in the first round of the 2021 Canary Islands Championship.

The chasing group is where it gets heavy. Rahm, a two-time major champion, is three back. Wiesberger and Bairstow are alongside him.

How often does a three-shot first-round lead win on the DP World Tour?

Not often. A solo first-round lead of three shots or more on the DP World Tour turned into a win 5 times in 28 tries from the 2016 season through October 2026, about 18 percent, per our DP World Tour database. Half of those leaders still finished top 5, so the lead is worth something. It just isn’t a coronation.

The table below shows how every solo 18-hole leader in a completed four-round DP World Tour event finished, grouped by the size of the lead, covering more than 450 events from the 2016 season through October 2026, majors included.

First-round lead	Leaders	Won	Win rate	Top 5	Top 10
1 shot or more	285	36	13%	122	173
2 shots or more	92	11	12%	47	65
3 shots or more	28	5	18%	14	22

One of those five three-shot leaders who closed did it at this very event. Shane Lowry led the 2019 Abu Dhabi Championship by three after 18 holes and won it. The other 23 didn’t, and that list includes Phil Mickelson at the 2016 Open and Justin Rose at two different Masters.

Has Francesco Laporta ever won on the DP World Tour?

No. Laporta, an Italian, has made 195 DP World Tour starts since the 2016 season with 19 top-10 finishes and three runner-ups, and no wins, per our database. He has been close lately, though, and he has held the lead at big events before.

• At the 2026 Investec South African Open in February he led at the halfway point, then tied for second, three shots behind Casey Jarvis.
• At the 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship he shot a second-round 63 to take the 36-hole lead, then went 69 and 74 on the weekend and tied for 17th. Lee Westwood won that week.
• At Yas Links he tied for 13th at 18 under in 2024 and tied for 32nd in 2025.

So the pattern isn’t that he can’t go low. He clearly can. It’s the weekend that has gotten him, more than once, with a lead in hand.

Laporta betting and DFS angle for the Abu Dhabi Championship

Our read is that the field is the better side than Laporta from here. A three-shot lead after one day in a 70-man field still leaves 54 holes, and the man three back is Rahm, who has closed out majors. A player with no DP World Tour win, a halfway lead that slipped in South Africa, and a weekend fade in Abu Dhabi before carries real risk at whatever short price the books hang on him overnight.

If you like him, a top-5 or top-10 finish is the honest way to back the round. Half of the three-shot first-round leaders in our data finished top 5, and 22 of 28 finished top 10. That’s a much better fit for what the history actually says than an outright at a price built off one 62.

For McIlroy, eight back is not a problem for the Race to Dubai so much as a reminder. Eugenio Chacarra leads the standings and also shot 70, so the penalty cost McIlroy the two shots he would have gained on him Thursday. Our Yas Links history piece had McIlroy as the best course-history player in this field, and one penalty doesn’t change that.

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FAQ

Who moves on to Dubai after the Abu Dhabi Championship?

The top 50 in the Race to Dubai Rankings after Abu Dhabi advance to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week, the second and final Play-Offs event, where the season-long title is decided.

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