Rory McIlroy made up for his irregular season in Dubai by beating Andy Sullivan by one in the final event of the European Tour season, the DP World Tour Championship, and at the same time proclaiming himself the winner of the Race to Dubai, a title he won for the third time.
The world number three had to bring out his best game over the weekend to catch Sullivan in a beautiful head-to-head battle at Jumeirah Golf Estates. He finally managed to pull ahead with four birdies in five holes from the 11th and, although he went into the water on the 17th, he managed to save a crucial bogey to go one ahead on the 18th.
He turned in a final round of 66(-6) for a total of 21 under par.
After leading the tournament the first three days, Sullivan was in search of his fourth victory of the season, but his 68(-4) on Sunday was not enough to hold off McIlroy.
Instead, he has the consolation of making it into the top 15 of the Race to Dubai, which will share the $5 million bonus pool.
Sunday at 12 o’clock came out the stellar match surrounded by anticipation. Sullivan had the honor of being the last player announced by starter Ivor Robson, who is retiring this week. Robson, who has been giving the starts for 41 years, is an institution on the European Tour.
McIroy went out to one stroke and pulled to within two when Sullivan birdied the 1st from eight feet.
On the 2nd (par 5) he made another from three and a half. McIlroy matched it.
On the 4th McIlroy made three putts for bogey and got within three. On the 5th he holed a long putt for birdie. Sullivan was 10 feet away and birdied the back nine to get to -19 and keep his three stroke lead.
The two birdied the 6th. By then they had already escaped from the pack and the tournament was being played in the star match.
On the 7th (par 5) Sullivan saved a good par after getting in trouble on the left, but McIlroy birdied with two pats and picked up a stroke.
Sullivan bogeyed the 8th and lost another stroke.
On the 9th (par 4) he again got into trouble with the bunkers and found himself three in the rough behind the green, downhill and with the flag close by. He seemed on the verge of losing the last stroke of advantage he had left, but he kept it by putting it from there with a masterful chip.
Both birdied the 11th. That was the last for Sullivan, who was -20.
Instead McIlroy went on a roll: birdie on the 12th from six meters to tie for the lead, birdie on the 14th from half a meter to lead the tournament for the first time, and birdie on the 15th from less than two meters, his fourth in five holes, to take a two-hole lead.
On the 17th he hit the water with the only really bad shot of the day. This is how he tells it: “It was a horrible shot, with a deviation of almost 40 meters. On the way to the drop zone JP [su caddie] He told me: “think that you are tied and that you have to approach and pat for bogey. That helped me a lot because instead of thinking I had a two-stroke lead, I forced myself to save the bogey. At the time I wasn’t happy with myself at all, but that idea helped me get over it quickly and I was able to get the pat in.”
McIlroy sums up the winning shots: “The birdie on the 12th was crucial to get me even, and then the two birdies on the 14th and 15th gave me a cushion that I needed. Thank God, I made the putt on the 17th, which gave me peace of mind to play the 18th. If not, I would have had to force a birdie and anything can happen on that hole.
As for his rival he commented: “I already knew Andy was a great player. Whenever I’ve played with him I’ve always been impressed. He moves the ball very well from left to right and from right to left, he masters all the strokes… and we have already seen how he kicks. Fighting the way he fought today shows how good he is and how much he has improved. I know that one of his big goals is to play in the Ryder and I think he would be a great addition to the team.
Branden Grace (67 today) was solo third at -15.
Six players tied for fourth with -13.
Three Spaniards finished in twenty-second place with -7: Rafa Cabrera Bello, who shot a final round of 66, Pablo Larrazábal, who shot 68, and Alejandro Cañizares, who finished with 72.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez finished in 48th place, with -1.
Leave a Reply