Rory McIlroy at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2015: Daily Leaderboard Updates
Rory McIlroy's first date of 2015 was the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a tournament in which he finished as runner-up for the fourth time in his career.
There were positive signs from the Northern Irishman, but his putting eventually cost him a chance of victory. Gary Stal won the event by one shot after a dramatic collapse by Martin Kaymer on the final day of the competition.
Here's a look at how Rory got on in the season curtain-raiser.
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Day 4 Recap
Rory McIlroy flirted with the prospect of victory on the final day of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, but he ultimately came up one shot short of eventual winner Gary Stal.
The Northern Irishman shot a very impressive six-under par round of 66 in Round 4, including seven birdies on the final day of an engrossing championship.
Overnight leader Martin Kaymer crumbled on the back nine to give McIlroy and others a shot at victory, but the world No. 1 couldn’t quite produce the fireworks needed to take the title in the final holes.
Here’s a closer look at Rory’s final round of what was a decent week for him:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Strokes | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 34 | |
| Total | -12 | -13 | -13 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -13 | -14 | -14 | |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Strokes | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 66 |
| Total | -15 | -15 | -15 | -16 | -16 | -17 | -17 | -17 | -18 | -18 |
Here's the tournament's final leaderboard:
| 1. | Gary Stal | -19 | 65 |
| 2. | Rory McIlroy | -18 | 66 |
| 3. | Martin Kaymer | -17 | 75 |
| T4. | Victor Dubuisson | -16 | 67 |
| T4. | Thomas Pieters | -16 | 70 |
| T6. | James Morrison | -14 | 67 |
| T6. | Tyrrell Hatton | -14 | 67 |
| T6. | Bernd Wiesberger | -14 | 71 |
A pretty dank third round looked as though it had curtailed any hopes of glory here for McIlroy, but he was set for a real roller-coaster ride around the Abu Dhabi course on Day 4.
He began the round in solid fashion after taking a birdie at the second hole but a four at the par-three fourth brought him back toward the chasing pack. Three more pars followed in the subsequent holes before the four-time major winner turned on the style in the middle of his round.
McIlroy bagged three consecutive birdies around the turn and just missed out on a fourth at the 11th, as noted by Golfing World:
Former England international Michael Owen lamented the 25-year-old’s putting, which was a little bit erratic once again during this round, much as it had been throughout the course of the week:
With eight to play, five shots looked like an insurmountable margin for the world No. 1 but birdies at 13 and 15, coupled with a horrendous collapse from leader Kaymer, moved McIlroy level with the German and just one shot behind the new leader Stal.
McIlroy continued to play superbly from tee to green, but his unreliable putting let him down. Chances slipped by for birdies at 16 and 17 for the four-time major winner and after Stal sunk a monster putt to move two shots clear at the 16th, Rory’s chances were all but done for.
He almost holed out of the bunker to bag an eagle at the final hole, but a birdie finish capped off a decent week for the Northern Irishman. Here's a look at how close he came to forcing a playoff:
There were ominous signs from McIlroy throughout the week and there are plenty of positives to draw on at the outset of a long season. His swing is looking in immaculate order and if he can refine his ropey putting in the weeks to come, more major titles look like a mere inevitability for the world No. 1.
Day 3 Recap
Two strong opening days in the 2015 Abu Dhabi Championship were followed by a rather flat performance from Rory McIlroy on Saturday, finishing Day 3 with a one-under 71 to fall well behind the leaders.
The Northern Irishman—now on 12-under for the tournament—has allowed a yawning gap to grow between himself and the tournament pace-setter, with Martin Kaymer now eight shots clear of McIlroy, having shot seven-under on Saturday.
Here's a look at McIlroy's scorecard for Day 3, with the full leaderboard on the European Tour's official website:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Strokes | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 35 | |
| Total | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Strokes | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
| Total | -12 | -12 | -13 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -12 |
And here's how the top of the standings looks heading into the final day of competition:
| 1 | Martin Kaymer | -7 | -20 |
| 2 | Thomas Pieters | -2 | -14 |
| T3 | Bernd Wiesberger | -6 | -13 |
| T3 | Alexander Levy | -5 | -13 |
| T5 | Charl Schwartzel | -7 | -12 |
| T5 | Gary Stal | -5 | -12 |
| T5 | Rory McIlroy | -1 | -12 |
| T8 | Victor Dubuisson | -8 | -11 |
| T8 | Jamie Donaldson | -7 | -11 |
| T8 | Dawie Van der Walt | -7 | -11 |
| T8 | Peter Uihlein | -2 | -11 |
It was evident from his play across the front nine that Saturday would perhaps be a more conservative outing for McIlroy, managing just one birdie.
Of his Day 3 performance, McIlroy told the official European Tour website:
"I feel like punching myself. I'm very disappointed, I just didn't putt well - yesterday or today. I hit the ball just as well as I did yesterday and gave myself so many chances but I didn't convert any. I was very wasteful today. It looks like I'm playing for second place tomorrow.
You're always trying to improve and get better and I'm going to have to do something a bit better on the greens to shoot a good number and finish the tournament off well.
"
In truth, it would now take a mighty collapse from Kaymer on Sunday if he's to be caught.
Paul Mahoney of Esquire believes this week's tournament might be the start of an intriguing rivalry between McIlroy and Kaymer in 2015:
McIlroy's sole birdie in the first half of Saturday's round came on the sixth, a 469-yarder which he bogeyed on Friday, showing some extent of adaptation as the competition progresses.
The score on six was an achievement in itself, however, considering it stands as the third least commonly birdied hole in this year's competition thus far, per the official European Tour website.
However, there wasn't enough of that from McIlroy. Cool FM's Richard Morgan acknowledged that the Northern Irishman's chances of winning the Abu Dhabi title now seem scarce:
The back stretch told a similar tale and, following the heroics of Day 2's maiden hole-in-one, McIlroy could only par the 15th this time around.
The 25-year-old could register par for his back nine, following a birdie with a bogey on the 12th and 13th, respectively, to cap off a fairly unremarkable day's work.
Day 2 Recap
McIlroy sunk his first-ever career hole-in-one to secure a six-under 66 during the Abu Dhabi Championship's second round, pushing his overall score to 11-under for the tournament. He entered the clubhouse two shots behind leader Martin Kaymer and one behind Thomas Pieters.
You can check McIlroy's scorecard for the second day below, or indeed, the full leaderboard on the European Tour's official website:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Strokes | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 35 | |
| Total | -6 | -7 | -7 | -7 | -7 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -7 | |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Strokes | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 66 |
| Total | -7 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -11 | -11 | -11 |
Here's the players currently pushing for victory at this stage:
| 1 | Martin Kaymer | -5 | -13 |
| 2 | Thomas Pieters | -5 | -12 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | -6 | -11 |
| T4 | James Morrison | -5 | -9 |
| T4 | Peter Uihlein | -4 | -9 |
| T6 | Alexander Levy | -2 | -8 |
| T6 | Richard Green | -4 | -8 |
| T8 | Tyrrell Hatton | -1 | -7 |
| T8 | Morten Orum Madsen | -3 | -7 |
| T8 | Bernd Wiesberger | -7 | -7 |
| T8 | Gary Stal | -3 | -7 |
McIlroy started the day strongly, securing two birdies along the first two holes. He parred the rest of the front nine aside form the sixth, in which he dropped a shot.
The man from County Down improved at the turn, sinking another two birdies to push himself up the leaderboard. No further mistakes were to follow across the rest of the day, which will be remembered for McIlroy's highlight reel hole-in-one on 15, tweeted by the tournament's social media feed:
McIlroy acknowledged the shot after his session, per BBC Sport: "It was a perfect number, straight downwind 177 yards, and it took a nice little hop to the right, so obviously the beers are on me tonight.
It wasn't one of my goals for the year but it's a nice little bonus."
He composed himself through the excitement to finish the round with another two pars and birdie on 18. Such a solid run allowed McIlroy to improve on his first-round score by one shot, pushing his overall total to a well-placed 11-under heading into the weekend's crucial stages.
McIlroy's confidence is sure to be increasing as the competition progresses. Aside from his hole-in-one, he posted the second best score of the round, only beaten by Bernd Wiesberger's seven-under. Even so, Kaymer improved his consistency on Friday—dropping no shots compared to two 24 hours before—and will be difficult to overcome.
It was once again proven McIlroy is capable of the spectacular, however, so onlookers can brace themselves for the wily competitor to try and pull off further heroics to close the gap.
Day 1 Recap
McIlroy posted an opening-round five-under 67 at the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a score which placed him tied eighth at the conclusion of the day, three shots behind leader Martin Kaymer.
Here's a look at the world No. 1's scorecard for the opening day (Be sure to check the full leaderboard over on the European Tour's official website):
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Strokes | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 31 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -3 | -3 | -4 | -5 | -5 | -5 | |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Strokes | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 67 |
| Total | -6 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -6 | -5 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
For reference, the Day 1's top players are highlighted below:
| 1 | Martin Kaymer | -8 |
| 2 | Thomas Pieters | -7 |
| T3 | Branden Grace | -6 |
| T3 | Gregory Bourdy | -6 |
| T3 | Tyrrell Hatton | -6 |
| T3 | Alexander Levy | -6 |
| T3 | Mikko Ilonen | -6 |
| T8 | Rickie Fowler | -6 |
| T8 | Rory McIlory | -5 |
| T8 | Peter Uihlein | -5 |
| T8 | An Byeong-hun | -5 |
| T8 | Alex Noren | -5 |
| T8 | Robert Karlsson | -5 |
McIlroy started comfortably, opening with a birdie and posting six consecutive pars after starting from 10. He dropped his only shot of the day on 17, but significantly ramped up his form after the turn.
The competition favourite shot five birdies along his final seven holes of the day, with the best of his showing highlighted by the European Tour's Twitter account:
McIlroy maintained his composure for much of the day to enter the clubhouse with a real shot of challenging across the weekend.
The 25-year-old once again wrote down his objectives for the year on his boarding pass before flying to the tournament, reported by The Associated Press (h/t Golf.com). "One of the goals this week is just to have no penalty shots when I don't need them,'' said McIlroy. ''And see where I end up at the end of the week."
He'll certainly be pleased with his opening efforts and will now be more than confident of gaining steam as the tournament progresses.
It's not unusual to see McIlroy take time to find his best form. Despite Kaymer's three-shot lead, it's encouraging for McIlroy fans to see his efficiency improve throughout the opening day. It shouldn't take him too long to fully blow away the new year cobwebs and challenge for the silverware.
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