DP World Tour Championship, Rory Signs Off in Style.

Race to Dubai Champion and DP World Tour Champion

Rory McIlroy/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy signed off on his remarkable season by winning the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course, on Sunday. Rory’s last round of -6 under par 66, gave him a tournament totel of -23 under par, two shots ahead of his nearest rival, who was Justin Rose. Rory said his year had been “Unbelievable.”  He had heard the cheers around the course as Justin came charging through the field, and watched as Justin birdied the last, the par five eighteenth from around 100 feet.

“I saw Justin make a charge, I heard the cheers, but to finish like that was great. I could not have wished for any better. To back up 2011 with another Major and to be part of an unbelievable story at the Ryder Cup has made it an incredible year. But hopefully I can emulate it or do even better next year! It’s an unbelievable feeling, I said I wanted to win both trophies this week and that is exactly what I’ve managed to do even though I didn’t get off to the best of starts with a bogey on the first. I knew I needed to do something special over the closing few holes, I really couldn’t have wished for a better ending. I made all the targets that I set for this year and I’m already looking forward to 2013. Today I went out with a target of 22 under par, which I thought would be enough to win so making it to 23 under par gave me a bit of a cushion.”

Justin’s compensation for his Earth Course record of -10 under par last round 62, and second place at -21 under par, is fourth spot in the World Golf Rankings, pushing down Lee Westwood, the first time Lee has been outside the top four in three years. He played the last six holes in -6 under par, and also has the memory of that 100 foot putt, that everybody thought was actually going in. It would have been even more miraculous than the Ryder Cup birdie against Phil Mickleson. The putt looked like it was going to stop at the top of the ridge, but then gently trickled down to the side of the hole, Justin summed it up as:

“Probably four Mickelsons, maybe five. I knew it was hero or zero there, I was one roll away from looking like an idiot. I actually got goosebumps. I thought it was going to go in for a second.”

Luke Donald went 102 holes without a bogey, but sadly finished his tournament with a last round of -1 under par 71, tied in third place with South African Charl Schwartzel, both completed the tournament at -18 under par.

But the day, and the year, belonged to Rory McIlroy, lets hope he can continue the good form next year. It is always hard to follow a really good year with another, and even more of a challenge for Rory, as he has decided to change his clubs for next year, no more Titleist, it is rumored he will now play Nike. Rickie Fowler has not played so well since his switch to Cobra, lets trust that Rory has not made the same mistake.

DP World Tour Championship, Its Luke and Rory Tied at the Top

Luke & Rory/ Getty Images

The World number one Rory McIlroy and World number two Luke Donald are tied at the top of the DP World Tour Championship after three rounds at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course in Dubai. Both of these splendid players have a Tournament score of -17 under par, attaining that number with third rounds of -6 under par 66′s.

 Luke  has amazingly extended his bogey free run at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course to 100 holes, that was good enough to distance himself from the rest of the field, with the exception of the World number one Rory, who started with a bogey at the first, but that was cancelled out by five birdies and an eagle at the long 14th.

100 holes without a bogey at this tournament, Luke could not believe it:

“I’m not sure I can believe that, that’s pretty good. I guess that’s my style, I don’t make too many mistakes. It’s going to be fun, great for the crowd and everyone watching around the world. Hopefully we can make some birdies.”

Rory said he had suffered another bad night with his fever, it did not show his golf;

“I woke up at four and was not feeling great, but I guess the adrenaline keeps you going when playing, “

When informed about Luke’s wondrous  run without a bogey, Rory smiled and replied,

“He must be due one. I think everyone is looking forward to the Number One and Number Two duel tomorrow, and that’s the way it’s panned out. I know I’m excited about it, and I’m sure a lot of people are. It will be a great way to finish the 2012 European Tour season.”

Joint halfway leader Marc Warren could only manage a par round of 72 to stay at -11 under par, now six shots behind Luke and Rory. Tied in second place at -14 under par are South African Major Champions Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, with four-time European Tour winner Branden Grace and Dutchman Joost Luiten two shots further back at -12 under par.

Given the Status of the leading pair, everyone else is probably too far back to make an impact in this Tournament, so it’s down to Luke and Rory to put on a show for the watching and waiting World.

 

DP World Tour Championship, Luke has Rory and Marc for Company at the top.

Luke Donald shot a second round -4 under par 68, to remain at the top of the leaderboard at the DP World Tour Championship on the Jumerirah Golf Estates course in Dubai. He was joined at the top by Rory McIlroy who shot a second round -5 under 67, and Marc Warren who matched Rory’s score on the day. All three players are at -11 under par for the Tournament.

Rory McIlroy/ Getty Images

Rory thinks he was suffering from a bit of sunstroke, and said although he took some medicine he was not feeling too good out on the course;

“I got off the course yesterday and had a really sore head and a fever, I think it was a bit of sunstroke. I took a few things and felt better, but I’m not feeling great again. The sun’s taking it out of me a bit.”

Luke thought he was not as sharp on the greens today, but is looking  forward to a fun weekend;

” Obviously I haven’t dropped a shot in 36 holes so feel good about that. I wasn’t quite as good on the greens today. I had some opportunities, ten to 15 footers on a few holes that I just misread, but that was a solid round of golf. It was reasonably straightforward. I didn’t put myself in too much trouble today, but certainly when I gave myself a little bit of trouble out on the course, I was able to recover with the putter. It’s a great field in general and it usually produces a really exciting weekend. The last tournament of the year, we are looking forward to going out on a high note, and obviously Rory is playing well and a bunch of other guys are playing well, so should make for a fun weekend.”

Marc said he was happy to be the Scot amongst all the high quality people near the top of the leaderboard;

“It was nice to be the Scot in that pack with the Englishman and the Northern Irishman. It’s great to be in contention with guys like that, and looking down the leaderboard, it’s a high-quality leaderboard and doesn’t get any better anywhere in the world really. It’s great for The European Tour and it’s great for The Race to Dubai, and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Two South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace are only a stroke behind, lurking with intent at -10 under par.

Round of the day went to Sergio Garcia, who shot one of golf’s most remarkable course records in Dubai – two eagles, nine birdies, two bogeys and a triple bogey seven, to match the course record. We have to assume the operation to remove that astigmatism has helped him see things more clearly now;

Sergio Garcia/ Getty images

Sergio was amazed at his record equaling round;

“It was unbelievable, wasn’t it? I’m still kind of getting used to it, my sight’s not changed immensely, but the main reason was that with contact lenses I was feeling very uncomfortable.”

It is still a very tightly packed leaderboard, and it is indeed going to be a great weekend, and a fine finish to the regular season, with the World number one and two battling it out between them. I trust they will both stay focused and not lose sight of the others in this field who are perfectly capable of winning this tournament.

DP World Tour Championship, Luke Leads.

Luke Donald/ Getty Images

Luke Donald, who won in Japan last Sunday, is once again the man to catch after a sparkling -7 under par first round to the $8,000,000 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Rory McIlroy, uncatchable at the top of The Race to Dubai, is just one shot behind at -6 under par.

Luke said that he always feels different a week after winning, he felt like he could not miss;

” I felt like I couldn’t miss. I hit some really good irons shots too and it’s fun when it seems that easy, You always feel different the week after winning, you just feel like you have that little extra pep in your step and there’s a bit more confidence flowing through you for sure. Especially winning by five as I did last week gave me a huge boost.”

Luke  moved back up to second in the rankings ahead of Tiger Woods by taking the Dunlop Phoenix title at the weekend and is seeking to match Rory with four wins this year.

Rory said he got off to a slow start but is driving the ball beautifully;

“I got off to a bit of a slow start but felt I was hitting the ball well enough to give myself opportunities for birdies. I just had to stay patient. I got it together on the back nine. It’s a great way to start, obviously, I’m confident heading into tomorrow. I think I drove the ball beautifully with the exception of 18.”

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Marc Warren joined Rory on the -6 under par score, Gonzo said the front and back nines were completely different, I know that feeling;

“The back nine had nothing to do with the front nine, I played very well on front nine, believe it or not. I didn’t hole any putts, but I stayed patient, and all of the putts seemed to drop on the back nine. It was worth the wait, that’s for sure.”

Marc was rushing around looking for his waterproofs, he stepped out of his hotel into pouring rain, 20 millimeters of the stuff had fallen in two hours, but it soon cleared up and the conditions were perfect, Marc enjoyed the fact that there was no wind;

“There was no wind to speak of and the greens were pure. I felt as if I hit a lot of good golf, Winning is the most fun you can have at a golf tournament and it’s something I want to do again soon.”

Tied in fourth spot with rounds of 67′s were 2009 winner Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Richie Ramsay, Louis Oosthuizen and Fredrik Andersson Hed.

Returning from eye surgery, Sergio Garcia shot 73, he needed the corrective surgery for an astigmatism following the Ryder Cup, Ian Poulter shared the same score, he must still feel deflated after his peculiar aberration at the Australian Open last week, missing a very short putt.

Footnote:

Astigmatism is a type of refractive error of the eye. Refractive errors cause blurred vision and are the most common reason why a person goes to see an eye professional. Just incase you were wondering what Sergio’s condition was.

UBS Hong Kong Open. Maical Miguel Makes it Three

Magical Miguel Angel Jiménez makes it three wins at this event, the UBS Hong Kong Open, and he also became the oldest winner on the European Tour in history. Miguel’s tournament winning score was -15 under par, with a last round of -5 under par 65, to lift the trophy.

Miguel Angel Jiménez/ Getty Images

Miguel is six months older than Des Smyth was when he won the 2001 Madeira Islands Open, the victory was Miguel’s 19th on The European Tour and the 12th win since he turned 40, with two of which also came in Fanling in 2005 and 2008. Miguel, the  assistant Captain at The Ryder Cup at Medinah, said he hoped it was not his last victory;

“It’s very nice , I hope it’s not the last one, I really love this place. I love the golf course, it’s a great golf course where you have to control the ball very well, it’s not a matter of distance.”

Of his longevity playing golf Miguel admitted;

“This is maybe the olive oil in my joints, and the nice Rioja wine and those things keep you fit and flexible. The most important thing, I do what I like to do in my life, and golf has given me all of this pleasure. Winning now, at 48.  My goodness 24 years I’ve been on the Tour. I still love it and I think that is fantastic, to love what you’re doing, and enjoy yourself, keep fit, keep working myself a little bit and stretching a lot, and that’s the main thing to do to compete with the new guns. “

Fredrik Andersson Hed , another veteran player, at 40, made a charge and could have got up to make it a play-off, but just came up short, claiming second place on his own at -14 under par, he rued a couple of missed birdies on the back nine that would have made the difference;

“I don’t think I’ve ever played better than I did today under pressure. There were a couple of loose shots on 15 and 16 that I got away with and made pars and then unfortunately couldn’t get the birdies in on 17 and 18. It always feels good to finish second in a golf tournament; you know you’ve done something good. It’s a pity I couldn’t get one of the putts on the last two holes to put a little bit more pressure on him on the last hole. He did fantastic, though, with a perfect tee shot, the perfect second shot and easy two-putt, so all credit to Miguel.”

Marcus Fraser was third at -12 under par, and tied for fourth was Peter Lawrie, who  sealed his place next week  at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in the process, Scot Stephen Gallacher and the first of the young guns, 19-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero, last week’s Barclays Singapore Open champion, they finished at -11 under par.

The re-emerging Kiwi Michael Campbell, joint overnight leader with Miguel, and playing in the last pairing, fell away to joint eighth, with a sad last round of +2 over par.

UBS Hong Kong Open; Campbell Comeback Continues, McIlroy Misses Cut

Michael Campbell/getty

Michael Campbell continued his amazing comeback and is now leading the UBS Hong Kong Open at the halfway stage on the Fanling Golf Course. Michael shot a second round of -6 under par, 64, to top the leaderboard and have a one shot advantage over  Miguel Angel Jiménez, Fredrik Andersson-Hed and China’s Lian-wei Zhang, all of them with a tournament total of -8 under par.

Buoyed by his great day in the field, Michael had plenty to say;

“Today was a day where I played great from tee-to-green and holed a few nice putts for pars and birdies. I’m just happy to be in a position to have a chance for the weekend; that’s why we play the game, that’s why I didn’t give up. That’s why I just stuck at it, just stuck working hard on my game, and I knew that this would happen, I deserve it, really. It’s been a gradual build-up over the last three or four months, a few top fifteen’s. Portugal was a great boost to my confidence, and it shows this week. You can’t buy confidence, you just have to earn it, and I think I’ve earned it over the last seven years since I haven’t won a golf tournament. I have been patient. There have been times where I wanted to throw it in, but what’s really inspired me over the last four or five years is seeing my friends around the same age bracket as me, in the 40-plus club. The likes of Ernie winning his fourth Major, Thomas Björn winning three times last year, Paul Lawrie has had a wonderful last couple of years, and Jim Furyk winning the FedEx Cup last year. The list goes on, so 40 isn’t a bad age to be playing golf. Seeing my friends win tournaments left, right and centre definitely inspired me to not give up and keep on playing. At one particular time, I remember I was back in Sydney back home with my family and I said to myself, okay, tonight is where I decide whether I’m going to give up the game or keep on playing, keep on practicing. I went to bed that night and I woke up in the morning, and there something inside me said to me: ‘look, keep on going, you’ve still got the talent’. It doesn’t go away, the talent, it’s always with you. It never goes away; it just hides now and then. I decided to just keep on working hard and that was it really.”

Michael was also relieved that Rory had missed the cut, he four putted the last green and was out;

“That makes it a lot easier for the rest of the field!”

Overnight leader Javi Colomo shot a one over 71 to drop back into a tie for sixth, but World number one, and defending Champion Rory McIlroy missed the cut, a sad Rory admitted;

“I just got on a slide and couldn’t stop it, obviously not the week that I wanted. I was only four off the lead and thinking I could make a couple more and be right back in contention. Unfortunately it just went the other way. I didn’t putt well last week and sort of got away with it. This week was the same, so I think a bit of putting practice is required in Dubai. I think these couple of days off might actually do me good. It’ll give me a chance to rest. I think if I was completely fresh I wouldn’t have been making the mistakes. On the last I saw the projected cut was plus two, so I wanted to try to hole it for birdie.

His 30-foot attempt caught the lip, but ran on five feet and he took three more, a sad end to a great run this year, hopefully he can return to form next week in Dubai, at the DP World Tour Championship.

 

Marvelous Manassero Wins Barclays Soggy Singapore Open

Matteo Manassero/ Getty Images

Marvelous Matteo Manassero  the nineteen year-old from Italy won the rain affected Barclays Singapore Open, after a long hard day on the Sentosa Golf Course in soggy Singapore. Matteo beat South African Louis Oosthuizen on the third play-off hole, the par five eighteenth, with a marvelous Eagle, to win his third European Tour Trophy.

Lengthy storms on Thursday and Friday meant the third round had not been completed at the start of play on the final day, and Matteo first finished his third round with a score of -7 under par 64, to lead by two shots beginning the final round. Matteo spoke about the long day’s play;

“It’s been an extremely long day, the adrenaline kept me going and the key was starting really well this morning. Starting with some birdies gave me a lot of adrenaline to go forward. The play-off was just a great honor to play with Louis, it’s been amazing really. This year has been a tough year for me going through a few swing changes, but it has been amazing this week. I’m glad this came in such a great tournament.” 

The win for Matteo, and the resulting second place for Louis meant that the Race to Dubai title was handed  to Rory McIlroy, the Worlds number one ranked golfer, after Rory eventually finished third place alone with his last round of -6 par, 65, the best round of the day,  Rory collected ,296 for finishing in third place at the Barclays Singapore Open, took his season’s earnings to €3,696,597 and with his closest Race to Dubai rival Peter Hanson not playing again until the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Rory has now established an unassailable lead at the top of The Race to Dubai.

Rory McIlroy/ Getty Images