Aaron Rai survived a playoff against the reigning FedEx Cup champion in Tommy Fleetwood and the lowest round of Rory McIlroy’s DP World Tour career to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Calling his six Race to Dubai wins “a huge achievement”, McIlroy was clearly keen to enjoy the moment and the fact that he has now tied the record of the late, great Seve Ballesteros. Only Colin Montgomerie’s eight wins are still to be surpassed.
He’s exhausted, battling his swing and barely hanging on, yet David Micheluzzi can celebrate a major milestone simply by teeing it up in this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Closing with an eight-under-par 64 that included five birdies in his last six holes, the Dane made off with the DP World Tour Championship and the $US3 million first prize, easily the biggest of the 22-year-old’s career.
McIlroy, who is competing in the DP World Tour’s season finale in Dubai this week, was seen using TaylorMade’s Qi10 LS driver at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Tuesday.
The future looks brighter. Early doubts that the evolution of the European Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour would be more likely to enhance the stature of the latter at the expense of the former have been appeased.
Currently second on the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai points list, Horschel has ambitions to become the first American to break that Old World tape.
In order to maintain the performance targets set at the start of the season, the tour will recognise a new top 110 from the Race to Dubai and a new top 20 from the Challenge Tour.
Australian Golf Digest
