DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy took a double-bogey seven in a 1-over opening round of 73 to start the Dubai Desert Classic trailing eight shots behind clubhouse leader Francesco Molinari on Thursday.
Playing the 18th hole as the ninth of his round, McIlroy’s chip approach for his third shot pitched in front of the green and rolled back into the water. After taking a penalty, his next approach left McIlroy six feet from the pin needing two putts.
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Tyrrell Hatton of England plays his second shot on the 16th hole during first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, right, and Tommy Fleetwood of England walk down the 16th fairway during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot from a bunker on the 15th hole during first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks down the 16th fairway during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
McIlroy’s playing partner, Tommy Fleetwood, also dropped a shot on the 18th after making bogey also at the 14th and 16th. The world Nos. 2 and 3 both carded 73.
The third member of the stellar group of Ryder Cup winners, Tyrrell Hatton, shot a 2-under 70 to begin the defense of his Dubai title at Emirates Golf Club. Another Ryder Cup teammate, Shane Lowry, also was on 2 under.
Molinari hit eight birdies in a 7-under 65, including four in his first five holes starting at the 10th. He later had three straight birdies through the ninth to finish his round.
Mikael Lindberg was two shots back in second place with a 5-under 67, and Joel Girrbach was alone in third place in the clubhouse on 4 under.
A group of players on 3 under included Wenyi Ding, the 21-year-old former Arizona State University student from China.
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Tyrrell Hatton of England plays his second shot on the 16th hole during first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, right, and Tommy Fleetwood of England walk down the 16th fairway during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot from a bunker on the 15th hole during first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks down the 16th fairway during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to spotlight his proposed “ Board of Peace ” at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, looking to create momentum for a project that has been overshadowed this week first by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by a dramatic retreat from that push.
The new board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some traditional U.S. allies to so far take a pass.
Trump expressed confidence in his idea ahead of what the White House said would be a “charter announcement" on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps, featuring opening remarks by Trump and a collection of administration officials and leaders from various countries.
“We have a lot of great people that want to join,” Trump said with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by his side during a Wednesday meeting. Egypt is among the countries that has announced it will join the board. Trump added, “It’s going to be the most prestigious board ever formed.”
Attending are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’ son-in-law and a key overseas negotiator for his administration on several fronts.
Also on-hand will be leaders or top diplomats from several countries, including Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan; Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev; Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña; and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan.
The list also includes Argentina President Javier Milei and Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto, both Trump allies, and the heads of several state-run sovereign wealth funds.
Some 35 countries had agreed to sign on to the project, a senior administration official told reporters, and 60 nations had been invited to join. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Trump, who has spoken about the board replacing some of the functions of the United Nations and perhaps even making it eventually obsolete, said some countries’ leaders have indicated that they plan to join but still require approval from their parliaments, and said his administration is also receiving queries about membership from countries that hadn’t been invited to join.
Big questions remain, though. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before deciding to commit. The Russian president on Thursday is due to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks in Moscow.
Others are asking why Putin and other authoritarian leaders had even been invited to join. Trump said he wanted “everybody” who was powerful. “I have some controversial people. But these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence.”
Britain’s foreign secretary said Thursday that the U.K. plans to skip the ceremony.
“We won’t be one of the signatories today,” Yvette Cooper told the BBC. “Because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues, and we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine.”
Other European nations have similarly declined their invitations.
Norway and Sweden have indicated that they won’t participate, after France also said no. French officials stressed that while they support the Gaza peace plan, they were concerned the board could seek to replace the U.N. as the main venue for resolving conflicts.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said “the time has not yet come to accept the invitation,” according to the STA news agency, with the main concern being the board’s mandate may be too broad and could undermine international order based on the U.N. Charter.
Canada, Russia, Ukraine, China and the executive arm of the European Union also have not yet indicated their response to Trump’s invitations. Trump calling off the steep tariffs he threatened over Greenland could ease some allies' reluctance — but the issue is still far from settled.
The Kremlin said Putin will meet late Thursday with Witkoff and Kushner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “highly values peacemaking efforts by President Donald Trump and his team.”
Putin plans to discuss his proposal to send $1 billion to the Board of Peace and use it for humanitarian purposes during his talks with Abbas, Peskov said. But he noted that the use of those assets will require the U.S. action to unblock them.
The idea for the Board of Peace was first laid out in Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan and even was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.
Invitation letters to world leaders ahead of Davos indicated that the panel may not confine their work to Gaza.
When asked by a reporter earlier this week if the board should replace the U.N., Trump replied that “it might.” He asserted that the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to its potential” but also said the U.N. should continue ”because the potential is so great.”
Trump's hopes for the board received some good news on Wednesday, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he’s agreed to join, after his office has earlier criticized the makeup of the board’s committee tasked with overseeing Gaza.
Months into the ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians continue to suffer the humanitarian crisis unleashed by over two years of war. And violence in Gaza, while not at the same level as before the October ceasefire and hostage deal was agreed on, continues.
Key to the truce in Gaza continuing to hold is the disarming of Hamas, something the militant group that has controlled the Palestinian territory since 2007 has refused to do and that Israel sees as non-negotiable.
Trump on Wednesday said his administration should know in the next few weeks whether Hamas would come to terms on laying down their weapons.
“If they don’t do it," Trump said, "they’ll be blown away. Very quickly."
Trump's push for peace also comes after he threatened military action this month against Iran as it carried out a violent crackdown against some of the largest street protests in years, killing thousands.
Trump, for the time being, has signaled he won't carry out any new strikes on Iran after he said he received assurances that the Islamic government would not carry out the planned hangings of more than 800 protesters.
But even as he prepared to unveil his Board of Peace, Trump also made the case that his tough approach to Tehran — including strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year — was critical to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal coalescing. Iran was Hamas' most important patron, providing the group hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid, weapons, training and financial support over the years.
“If we didn’t do that, there was no chance of making peace," Trump said of Iran.
Trump also expects to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Davos on Thursday morning for a meeting expected after the morning's Board of Peace announcement.
But Trump, who continues to struggle to get Zelenskyy and Putin to agree to terms to end their nearly four-year old war, again expressed frustration with both on Wednesday.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done,” Trump said. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid — that goes for both of them.”
Madhani and Weissert reported from Washington.
President Trump stands on the podium at the beginning a session on the Board of Peace initiative of US President Donald Trump at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump arrives for a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
From right, Ayman Al Safadi, Deputy PM of of Jordan, Prabowo Subinato, President of Indonesia, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov, Ilham Aliyev, President Donald Trump President of Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia and Javier Milei, President of Argentina pose during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump gestures after his special address during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
