Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis and Highlights
The brightest talents in the golfing world were in Abu Dhabi looking to get 2015 off to the best possible start. Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Martin Kaymer all took to the course looking for glory, but it was Frenchman Gary Stal who emerged as victor in dramatic circumstances.
A win here would have been an ideal way to get a significant season underway for the four-time major champion McIlroy, and he admitted this tournament represents a perfect time to outline his goals for the year, per Sky Sports:
"Every year, I'm flying here, I write my goals down in the back of my boarding pass, I put it in my wallet and I memorise them, but I don't look at them until the end of the year. In my back pocket is a boarding pass with my goals for this year. I don't want to share them. I'll take that out at the end of the year and see how well I've done.
"
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Here's a look back at how the action played out throughout the week, including a dramatic collapse from one of the game's biggest stars on the final day of the championship.
Day 4 Recap
Frenchman Gary Stal shot a wonderful seven-under par round of 65 to win the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on an extraordinary final day.
Martin Kaymer boasted a six-shot lead going into the final round of the competition but a double-bogey and a triple-bogey blemished his round, allowing the youngster to capitalise with distinction. Rory McIlroy flirted with the prospect of victory, but he couldn’t quite get over the line come the end of the day finishing in second place.
Here’s a look at the final leaderboard and a recap of how this tournament eventually came to a dramatic conclusion:
| 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 |
Kaymer—who led by six shots coming into the final day—looked like a man intent on winning for the fourth time at this event. The German went through the first four holes in three-under par, and as noted here by the European Tour Twitter account, he was well clear of the field:
"Now 10 clear, Kaymer is firmly on track to join these 7 legends in winning the same event 4 or more times #ADChamps pic.twitter.com/HHCzKUefZ6
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 18, 2015"
But a bogey at the sixth seemed to knock his rhythm and after a double-bogey at the ninth, the man who was looking previously unflappable around this course was rattled. With Stal roaring up the leaderboard after a string of birdies, and McIlroy finding form around the turn, suddenly we looked as though we may have a real fight for the title on our hands.
That became wholly apparent when Kaymer suffered a meltdown at the 13th hole. He made a triple-bogey seven to hand 22-year-old Stal the outright lead. As we can see here courtesy of Golfing World, the German got himself into a real predicament and mentally, he looked all over the place:
A birdie at 15 moved McIlroy level with the German—just one behind the leader—and suddenly the Northern Irishman was looking very much in contention for the title, too. But he missed a couple of birdie opportunities at 16 and 17 which curtailed his chances of glory.
Stal—who had not won an event since 2012—was in the box seat at this point but with big names like Kaymer and McIlroy lingering it would have been easy for him to shirk under the pressure of being leader. But as we can see here courtesy of the European Tour Twitter account, his one-shot lead soon became two thanks to a wonderful putt at 16:
With Kaymer still looking shell-shocked from his triple-bogey as we reached the final holes, the tournament was there for Stal’s taking. And his game remained in excellent order under pressure as he eventually savoured victory by a one-shot margin from McIlroy.
Kaymer will be left to reflect on a wonderful opportunity missed. As noted above, he would have joined some elite company had he won a fourth title in Abu Dhabi; after starting the day with such a swagger and a six-shot buffer, it’s truly remarkable that he didn’t finish as champion.
Credit must go to Stal, though. With the drama of Kaymer’s collapse providing a fascinating backdrop to the day’s play, the Frenchman kept remarkably composed in the latter stages of the round. He struck some exceptional shots under pressure to get over the line and start what he surely hopes will be a breakthrough season on the tour.
Day 3 Recap
Martin Kaymer tightened his grip on the Abu Dhabi Championship as World No. 1 Rory McIlroy's challenge fell away after a disastrous putting performance on Saturday.
The German leader extended his supremacy in the competition after shooting a magnificent seven-under for his third round, as McIlroy recorded a disappointing one-under 71.
Kaymer now leads the tournament by six shots from Thomas Pieters, whose two-under 70 on Saturday was unable to keep him in touch with the runaway leader.
Here is a look at the current leaderboard after Day 3:
| 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 |
The race for second place now seems to be the competitive element of the competition going into the final round as no more than two shots separate six players.
Bernd Wiesberger and Alexander Levy are currently tied for third on 13-under, with Charl Schwartzel and Gary Stal joint fifth alongside a crestfallen McIlroy on 12-under.
But the day belonged to Kaymer as he shattered an Abu Dhabi record after his sublime round of golf, as highlighted by the European Tour:
Kaymer smashed five birdies on the front-nine to improve his lead over the chasing pack, and then completed a further two birdies on the back-nine, recording a bogey-free round, per EuropeanTour.com.
The German was surprised with his own outstanding form, but was nonetheless pleased with his extraordinary efforts, as reported by EuropeanTour:
"Hopefully it's going to be enough—I've really enjoyed the course. I've had a very solid three days, with only two bogeys in the first round. I'm a little bit surprised the way I played but the first round showed me I made the right choice taking it a little bit easy over the winter.
"
McIlroy's own disappoints were compounded by the fact he had an excellent day from tee to green. Despite his poor third-round score, the mercurial golfer was able to hit nearly every fairway—only missing out on two for the entire day's play.
The Irishman only conceded one bogey for the day but was only able to score two birdies over the 18 holes:
McIlroy had managed to hit his first hole-in-one during Friday's play but the euphoria surrounding that achievement will now have faded.
Kaymer will have to collapse in the final round to not be crowned as the winner on this occasion. He has managed to hit a wonderful consistency in Abu Dhabi and his peers have not managed to match his form.
The leader has now shot 67, 64 and 65 on consecutive days and has one hand on the trophy.
However, if McIlroy can put together one of his vintage rounds of golf and Kaymer opens the door—we could be in for a classic last day of play.
Day 2 Recap
Martin Kaymer takes a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship following another excellent round on Day 2. The German looks well placed for his fourth title at this event and backed up his opening day 64 with a solid round of 67, leaving him 13-under par.
There are plenty of classy players in pursuit of Kaymer, however. Thomas Pieters is just one back after his round of 67, while looming large is Rory McIlroy who surged up the field with a round of 66; his playing partner Rickie Fowler had a torrid day, shooting a three-over 75 to effectively end his hopes.
Here’s a look at how the tournament is shaping up ahead of what should be a magnificent weekend of golf:
| 1. | Martin Kaymer | -13 | 67 |
| 2. | Thomas Pieters | -12 | 67 |
| 3. | Rory McIlroy | -11 | 66 |
| T4. | James Morrison | -9 | 67 |
| T4. | Peter Uilhein | -9 | 68 |
| T6. | Alexander Levy | -8 | 70 |
| T6. | Richard Green | -8 | 68 |
The highlight of the day came from McIlroy, who sunk his first ever hole-in-one in professional golf. Remarkably it was the third one of the tournament so far and as we can see here courtesy ByTheMin Sport, it was a magnificent shot from the four-time major champion:
"Rory McIlroy Hole in one. Thankyou very much. https://t.co/clCozSvMnM
— ByTheMin Sport (@ByTheMinSport) January 16, 2015"
After his round, the Northern Irishman revealed it was a nice way to start the year, 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.
"
Indeed, you suspect McIlroy will have been much happier with his round as a whole. He upped it a level after a solid opening day and is within striking distance of the top guys with the business end of the tournament looming.
Ominously, Kaymer looked imperious around this course again. His Day 2 effort may not have contained quite as many highlights as his sensational efforts on the opening day, but he backed up his leading position with real distinction, shooting five birdies in a bogey-free round.
The world No. 12 didn’t conjure up quite as many scoring chances during his second round, but afterwards he was happy with how clinical his putting was when they did come about, per Matt Smith of reuters.com:
"I made 80-85 percent of the realistic birdie chances.
It’s only halftime. There are always some guys who can shoot the same score I did in the first two days, so I approach tomorrow the way I approached this morning: very neutral. It’s nice to have a bit of a cushion, hopefully, but nothing has been done yet.
"
As noted by The European Tour Twitter account, the German typically fares a lot better than McIlroy at this particular championship, something that should give him a jolt of confidence heading into the weekend:
Pieters will also feel as though he’s in with a shout after putting in another astute round on Day 2. The Belgian has played superbly for the first half of the competition and will hope that playing alongside Kaymer on Day 3 will be enough to spur him on to even greater things.
Standing at 6’5”, the 22-year-old is certainly an intimidating presence, but seeing as he’s yet to sample a victory on the European Tour, it’ll be intriguing to see how he handles the pressure of battling with giants of the game like McIlroy and Kaymer.
Day 1 Recap
Kaymer posted the lowest score of the opening day at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, firing off a round of eight-under. The German notched 10 birdies for a round of 64, but he’s closely followed by a host of high-profile names in the upper reaches of the leaderboard.
Thomas Pieters is just one shot back after an engrossing round of 65. He’s one shot clear of a clutch of players who enjoyed prosperous opening days, including Branden Grace and Alexander Levy.
McIlroy and Fowler are also in contention after Day 1. The brightest young stars in the game clearly spurred each other on, and they will both be happy with opening rounds of 67.
Here’s how the leaderboard is shaping up with a look back at how the players in attendance got their respective seasons underway:
| 1. | Martin Kaymer | 64 | -8 |
| 2. | Thomas Pieters | 65 | -7 |
| T3. | Branden Grace | 66 | -6 |
| T3. | Gregory Bourdy | 66 | -6 |
| T3. | Alexander Levy | 66 | -6 |
| T3. | Mikko Ilonen | 66 | -6 |
| T3. | Tyrrell Hatton | 66 | -6 |
| T8. | Rory McIlroy | 67 | -5 |
| T8. | Rickie Fowler | 67 | -5 |
At the start of this tournament, it was clear all eyes were going to be on McIlroy and Fowler. The pair have steadily been forging something of a rivalry in recent years, and on the brink of what should be a fascinating season for both, these early exchanges could be vital.
Both players began superbly, too, and after their first nine holes, they were a collective nine-under. The pace slowed a little in the second half of each player’s round, but as noted by golf writer Ben Coley, these two players going head-to-head is always a sight to behold:
McIlroy admitted afterward that having Fowler alongside him served as inspiration, per Sky Sports 4 (via Sky Sports):
"He was kicking me on, for sure. I didn't want to let him get too far ahead of me. I just wanted to try to stay as close to him as possible and thankfully I was able to do that. It was a nice finish and I'll need to do more of that in the next few days if I'm to have a chance to win. I'll need to hit more fairways as well. I didn't drive the ball particularly well today.
"
His play into the greens was excellent, though, as we can see here, courtesy of the European Tour's Twitter account:
Kaymer is a player who looks in ominous form, and at this juncture, he's the man most likely to prevent both of the young stars from sampling glory. The amicable German is going in search of his fourth win at this tournament and got his week off to a brilliant start.
As noted here by the European Tour's Twitter account, Kaymer began his round with a purposeful swagger:
There were plenty of other highlights on the opening day, too, with a couple of hole-in-ones for the crowd to savour. The first was from Tom Lewis, and the second came from the popular Miguel Angel Jimenez. Here’s a look at the Spaniard’s wonderful effort, courtesy of sports reporter Paul Higham:
But sadly for Jimenez, Lewis’ earlier effort means no grand prize for him, as noted by Kenny Crawford of BBC Scotland:
The star of the day was Kaymer, though. He played with a real composure around the Abu Dhabi course, and after striking the ball so cleanly on Day 1, the German will surely fancy his chances of sampling glory come Sunday evening. But with some thoroughbred champions well placed behind him, it should be an exceptional week of action.
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