Players were also remembering Spanish great Seve Ballesteros' formercaddie who passed away last week.
Defending champion Justin Rose was among those with ribbons pinned to their clothing in memory of Austrian caddie Max Zechmann -- who collapsed Wednesday at the Dubai Ladies Masters and later died -- and Argentine Pedro Ramseyer, who caddied for the late Ballesteros.
American Paul Peterson, who finished the first day at joint third at four under par despite recovering from sinus surgery, said: "It's sad for the caddies and the friendships that they have created; to have two guys go in two weeks is really sad."
And England's Ian Poulter, who said he had often played with Zechmann, earlier tweeted: "Very sad to see the passing of anothercaddie. Done many rounds with Big Max. #RIP thoughts go out to his family and friends."
The opening round of the $2 million tournament teed off in bright sunshine with Rose, who pulled out of the Hero World Challenge last week with a sore back, ending the day on par.
The Englishman was moving gingerly on the course and admitted he was "rusty" after taking a seven-week break to rest his back but said he was hopeful he was on the mend.
"The worst thing for me is picking the ball out of the hole - I think that's why I wasn't holing putts because I was scared to pick it out of the hole!" he joked.
"I came off today in a lot better shape than after the first round of the Hero last week - so I feel optimistic I'm through the worst of it and get better and stronger and looser every single day."
He came agonisingly close to carding an albatross on the 13th hole after a near 240-yard approach shot from the fairway bounced off the flag before he converted the putt for an eagle.
"I've never had an albatross before actually and that's the only thing mycaddie has over me in our golfing careers -- he's had an albatross and I haven't -- so I think he's quite glad that it hit the flag and stayed out to be honest!"
Few of the big names featured at the top of the leaderboard, with US Masters champion Danny Willett hitting two under at the par 70 course and US Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed even.
Poulter, who only returned to the game in October after five months out for foot surgery, also ended on two under but criticised his own mental focus after a few bogeys marred a strong start.
"So I'm really annoyed," he said. "I'm probably going to need to go to a padded room for about half an hour, and then I'll be alright."
Also at two under par was Taiwan's Lu Wei-chih, who underwent brain surgery four years ago to remove a tumour.
Leading the field was Rafa Cabrera Bello, who ended a sparkling round with an eagle after a stunning shot from the fairway dropped straight into the 10th hole.
The Spaniard, who made his Ryder Cup debut this year, ended the day with a six under par round of 64.
