Rory McIlroy at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2016: Sunday Score, Reaction
Rory McIlroy finished the 2016 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in a tie for third with Henrik Stenson as his four-under final round of 68 left him two shots back from winner Rickie Fowler.
He started the day tied for the lead at 10 under par but could not make any headway as he finished the last nine holes of his third round in the morning—delays having prevented many players from finishing before darkness fell on Saturday.
McIlroy simply could not find his range on the greens early on during his final round, but went three under for the final three holes to finish 14 under par for the tournament.
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Here is the Northern Irishman's scorecard from his Sunday round in Abu Dhabi:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 37 |
| Overall | -9 | -9 | -9 | -10 | -9 | -9 | -9 | -9 | -9 | -9 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
| Score | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 68 |
| Overall | -10 | -9 | -10 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -12 | -12 | -14 | -14 |
A bogey at the first was far from the ideal start for the world No. 3. He was unable to get up and down having gone through the green after he put his drive in a bunker.
He gave himself a great opportunity to claim one back at the third having put his ball close from the sand, but his short, swinging birdie attempt missed high of the hole.
McIlroy did return to 10 under on the fourth, though, with a birdie at the par three, only to bogey the fifth and put his drive at No. 6 into a water hazard.
He managed a miraculous up-and-down to save par, but then failed with a short birdie attempt after a terrific drive on the par-three seventh, per the European Tour:
Two more pars for McIlroy saw him out in 37 and the four-time major winner then opened up the back nine with a birdie at 10.
He handed it back with a five at the 11th but followed a birdie-two with a birdie-three to move to 11 under, his three at the 13th coming as he finally sank a 15-footer.
A chip-in from the green-side rough at the 16th moved him to 12 under for the tournament, and put him in with a slight chance of catching the leaders, per the European Tour:
And he finished in brilliant fashion, holing a long putt for eagle at the last. But it was not quite enough to claim victory in his first tournament of 2016 as Fowler eventually ended on 16 under par.
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