Rory McIlroy could not contain his excitement at getting back into competitive action after a six-week lay-off, although his competitors probably did not feel the same way as he claimed a share of the lead in the DP World Tour Championship.

The world No.1 carded six birdies and no bogeys in a flawless 66 to finish alongside Ireland's Shane Lowry in the £5.1million event in Dubai.

Scotland's Richie Ramsay and Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen were a shot off the pace on five under, with defending champion Henrik Stenson another stroke back alongside Argentina's Emiliano Grillo.

McIlroy's tally took the 25-year-old to an amazing 80 under par for his 21 rounds to date in this event, after previous finishes of third, fifth, 11th, first and fifth on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

And the Irishman, who wrapped up the Race to Dubai title for the second time in three years with a week to spare, certainly looked in the mood to continue his form as he birdied four of his first five holes, the only aberration coming when he missed from six feet on the third.

A run of nine successive pars followed before birdies at the 15th and 16th ensured he delivered on his promise not to rest on his laurels at the end of a phenomenal season.

"It was a great way to start and probably should have been five birdies in five holes to be honest," McIlroy said.

"You never expect to start like that, but I've been hitting the ball well for the last couple of weeks that I've been practising and it was just a matter of trying to take that good range play on to the course. I was able to do that today, which I'm really happy about.

"I'm on a really good path and I know what I need to do to make my golf game work and that's what I'm working on at the minute."

Ramsay, who was joint second alongside McIlroy at in the Dunhill Links, said: "I'm really happy. Obviously it was a great start, three birdies on the spin, and then played lovely in the middle, had a lot of chances but just didn't take a few."

Stenson birdied three of the last six holes to keep McIlroy in his sights and said: "He's a fantastic player. He's had a stellar season and he's going to be a tough one to beat here this week so I needed to bring some game if I want to be at the races. It probably sharpens your focus just that little bit extra."