Rickie Fowler is looking more and more comfortable in the most uncomfortable position in golf. What looked like a procession to the Abu Dhabi Championship title ended up being a squeeze for the American on Sunday.
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That experience likely helped in Abu Dhabi when Alejandro Canizares and Thomas Pieters both came within one shot of Fowler’s final-round lead, which started at two strokes and had grown to four by No. 6.
Sunday’s round was more closely contested than expected as Fowler held a four-shot lead after six holes; a double bogey on the seventh set him back but was immediately nullified with an eagle chip-in the very next hole.
‘I was talking with Michael (Greller, his caddie) up the 18th fairway, saying: ‘Wow, birdie here, we’re definitely top 10, and I felt like we were off this week, ‘ Spieth said.
With all the excitement surrounding Fowler, Pieters and McIlroy, it’s easy to forget that world No. 1 Jordan Spieth was also in the field.
Now, Fowler has four wins in impressive fields in nine months, starting with The Players last May, continuing with the Scottish Open, Deutsche Bank Championship and, now in Abu Dhabi.
“I’d like to jump in and be a part of that crew and see if we can continue to win some majors if I can jump in there”, he told the official European Tour website.
“I think I mentioned through the summer at some point, I said I was a sneaky fourth”. I was a sneaky fourth. We’ve got to take care of a major and then maybe I can join.
Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy dominated the headlines in the week leading up to the European Tour event, but Fowler topped McIlroy by two and Spieth by five. Physically, we’re not 100 percent right now.
The championship went down to the wire.
Pieters emerged from a congested pack to chase Fowler all the way. Then, just as McIlroy raised a huge cheer up ahead by rolling in an eagle putt at the last, he chipped in for a birdie at the 17th.
The No. 3-ranked McIlroy started the final round three shots behind Fowler and only came on strong down the stretch, chipping in for birdie on No. 16 and rolling in a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 18. The top four: Spieth, Day, McIlroy, Fowler.
“It is awesome to play with the best players in the world and to beat the best players in the world”, said Fowler after securing a cheque for around £310,000.
Jason Dufner won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a par on the second hole of a playoff Sunday, taking advantage of David Lingmerth’s shot off the rocks that bounced into the water.
Dufner finished with a 2-under 70 on PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course to match Lingmerth at 25-under 263.
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Two flashes of magic won it for the American, who closed with a 69 after posting a 65 in his delayed third circuit earlier in the day. I’ve been swinging well and continued to get better as the week’s gone on.
