Early advantage to Donald in Miami

It was first blood to Luke Donald when he took on Rory McIlroy, the man who dethroned him as world number one on Sunday, and Lee Westwood in Miami today.

The top three players in the rankings were paired together for the start of the WGC-Cadillac Championship and Donald’s pitch to four feet gave him a birdie on the long 10th.

McIlroy and Westwood were both bunkered by the green in two and, while the Northern Irishman made par, Westwood flew over the green into water and started with a bogey six.

Fellow Englishman Paul Casey had an eventful return to the sport. Out since dislocating his shoulder snowboarding on Christmas Eve, Casey birdied the first two holes, but bogeyed the next.

It put him one behind the two early pacesetters, Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

Westwood was not the player to have a six on his card early on – so did Phil Mickelson at the long 12th after pitching into sand.