Rory McIlroy has a stellar record at Jumeirah Golf Estates' Earth Course, but he clearly is not a fan of its unusual 18th hole after firing a cheeky dig at Greg Norman.

McIlroy has won three times at the Norman-designed course, and it has been the site of all seven of the Northern Irishman's Race to Dubai victories. He is chasing an eighth this week, and he will hope to dodge the mazy creek that zigzags through the fairway and up to the green.

It makes for compelling television, but it can be a maddeningly silly challenge for players. McIlroy played the 612-yard beast to near perfection on Thursday. His tee shot faded into the center of the fairway, and although he caught his approach a shade thin, it carried to pin high and set up a 13-foot eagle putt.

McIlroy left it short but tapped in for a closing birdie to card a three-under-par 69 and take a share of third place. His playing partner Eugenio Chacarra, the Race to Dubai leader, had a more adventurous experience.

The Spaniard's tee shot barely carried the water and took a favorable bounce off a rock before landing in the relative safety of the rough. He would make par.

McIlroy was asked about his own experiences on the closing holes over the years, and rather than get into the good and bad breaks, he quipped, with more than a hint of sarcasm: "Wonderful design by Greg Norman."

There is no shortage of irony in McIlroy taming this course over the years. He and Norman traded bitter barbs aplenty at the height of golf's civil war after the LIV Golf split. And, as with most things Norman does, his design for this closing hole divides opinion.

Regardless, McIlroy was happy with his day's work. He added: "I think it was a pretty fair score. I could probably stand here and argue that I could have been better, but I could probably stand here and argue that I could have been worse as well.

"I hit the ball well, for the most part. The wind makes it tricky, and the course setup is a little more difficult than in previous years.

"It's the old adage: you can't win it on the first day, but you can certainly lose it. I played nicely today, so it didn't feel like there was ever any threat of me shooting a bad one.

"But it was possible today to go out there and shoot a couple over and feel like you were out of the tournament. So to get off to a solid start was very important."

Chacarra shot an even-par 72 and is clinging onto his lead in the rankings as things stand. Patrick Reed, who entered the week just behind second-place McIlroy, had a dismal day, though, shooting a three-over-par 75, to leave his title hopes hanging by a thread.