Rory McIlroy lost a ball with only his fifth shot of the day and was left with a mountain to climb at the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World.
With McIlroy needing to win just to have a chance of denying Luke Donald an unprecedented money list double, the world's top two went head-to-head in the opening round.
But it was advantage Donald at the turn. Already the winner of the US PGA Tour money list in America, he covered the front nine in a three under par 33 compared to McIlroy's 36.
Scotland's former Open Champion Paul Lawrie had set a tough target earlier on with a sparkling seven under par 65 on his debut in the season-ending event.
He led by a stroke from Swede Peter Hanson and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, who still had five and three holes to play, but most attention was on the duel between the last players to tee off.
Donald requires a top-nine finish to secure The Race to Dubai crown, but his opening drive was leaked into the bushes.
He was fortunate to be able to advance it without taking a penalty drop, but bogeyed and was instantly two behind McIlroy.
By the third tee he was one ahead, however. While McIlroy ran up a double bogey seven on the next, he birdied after pitching to three feet.
Donald's birdie putts of 25 and six feet at the third and fifth took him no further in front because McIlroy had hit approaches to within three feet each time.
But there was another two shot swing on the eighth. Donald birdied from seven feet after McIlroy had gone over the green and lipped out from eight.
Donald was bunkered on the ninth, but, expert as he is from sand, he splashed out to two feet to save par.
Lawrie, who in Spain in March had his first win for nine years, began a run of six birdies in seven holes with 15 foot putts on the fifth and sixth.
The Aberdeen golfer then chipped close at the long seventh, made a 30 footer to complete an outward 32 and then picked up more shots at the tenth, 11th and 626 yard 14th.
"I gave myself an awful lot of chances - my iron play was fabulous," said Lawrie, who spent all day Monday working on his game after finishing the UBS Hong Kong Open at the weekend with a five over par 75.
"The flight got in at 4.30am, I went to the hotel for a shower, was on the range by seven and didn't get to the hotel until four or five in the afternoon.
"Sometimes you need a day like that. My boys are 16 and 12 now and I don't want them to see Dad being a poor player.
"I want to be in the top 50 in the world." He is currently 93rd.
The 58-strong field - Justin Rose and Fredrik Jacobson are not playing - was further reduced to 57 when Korean Y E Yang pulled out after four holes with a neck injury, but Dane Thomas Björn was battling on with the same problem.
McIlroy holed from eight feet at the tenth to be only two behind Donald again, but he was six behind not only Lawrie, but also Hanson after his fifth birdie in six holes came on the 15th.
The picture continued to change, McIlroy making a curling 18 footer on the short 13th and then having a birdie to Donald's bogey on the next to lead him by one - three under to two under.
Donald had driven into a bush there and was forced to take a drop, while the 22 year old was bunkered in two and holed from eight feet.
Bad news for McIlroy, though, was that Hanson completed a back nine 30 and equalled the course record with his 64.
