Rory McIlroy With Another Second Place Finish In Abu Dhabi
By Les Bailey
Sep 14, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Rory McIlroy reacts to the crowd after his putt on the sixteenth green during the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Rory McIlroy took advantage of Martin Kaymer’s misfortunes on Sunday afternoon at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and logged his second, second-place finish in succession. The World’s number one player overcame the putting woes from Saturday, and carded a nice, six under par 66 in the final’, and picks up a second-place check.
The youngster from Northern Ireland had one bogey on the day, at the fourth hole, and finished one shot behind eventual tournament winner, Gary Stal from France, and one shot shy of wining his first Falcon Trophy.
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Since his amazing run at the end of the 2014 season when he won three tournaments in a row which included two majors, and a World Golf Championship, McIlroy has finished runner-up his both subsequent outings. This was his fourth runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi.
The 25 year-old phenom ended tied for second at the season ending, DP World Championship in Dubai. He won the 2014 Race To Dubai Championship, but lost the tournament to a re-emerging Henrik Stenson.
McIlroy’s second place finish in Abu Dhabi did move him up into ninth place in the 2015 Race To Dubai standings.
After a good start on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, playing alongside his pal, Rickie Fowler, McIlroy looked like he would continue his good fortune, and look for his first win in Abu Dhabi. He followed on day two with an even better outing, carding a six under par, 66.
It was Saturday that brought the concern. Rory didn’t play bad, he just couldn’t get a putt to drop. A close look at his score card showed us that with one bogey, and two birdies on the day, he was being forced to settle for pars when the field was making birdies.
During the first two rounds, McIlroy looked to be rolling the ball well on the greens. His speed, and alignment were spot on, and you had to know he was just having a slow day on Saturday, and the putter would probably return on Sunday.
Little did Rory, or anyone else expect a meltdown by a player of Martin Kaymer’s caliber. But with a 10 stroke lead, Kaymer lost his cool and put a 75 on the card when everyone else was making birdies.
Rory had a chance at the 18th green to tie the leader, and force a playoff. He played his third shot on the par five from the green side bunker, and narrowly missed holing it out. He made the subsequent putt, to move one up on Kaymer, who finished sole third, but one stroke in back of Gary Stal.
I expect Rory McIlroy to get the winter rust off of his game during the Desert Swing, and always plays well in Dubai. He will be ready for the Florida Swing, and have his game ready for Augusta in April.
I’m not sure if I am going to go out on a limb here and make him the favorite at the Masters, but I expect for him to challenge for that career slam. I do think he will be a factor in all the majors this year, I’m just not ready at this point, to give him a Green Jacket. He will have to earn it at Augusta the hard way.