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Weekend Wrapup: Fowler on Fire, Dufner Delivers

By: Golf Shake | Mon 25 Jan 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


Victory for Fowler at HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship

IT WAS meant to be all about Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, the world's most naturally gifted golfer against the world's number one. And while the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship didn't quite work out that way, both men gave the large galleries plenty to cheer about before coming up short.

With Jason Day winning the US PGA championship last year, there is great anticipation about the year ahead and the battles that McIlroy, Spieth and the Australian are expected to have together. Rickie Fowler is perfectly entitled to feel a little miffed that he has been overlooked and he arrived in the Middle East with a point to prove. Fowler won the Players Championship last year and the Scottish Open and played magnificent golf throughout 2015.

Rickie Fowler

Although he wouldn't admit it, his nose was point out of joint by talk of a new Big Three that didn't include him, and he found the perfect riposte by overshadowing McIlroy and Spieth to win in Abu Dhabi after a fantastic final-round duel with McIlroy, Thomas Pieters, of Belgium, and Henrik Stenson, the evergreen Swede.

Stenson, back on the course after knee surgery, closed with a 67 to finish on 14 under par and set the target, but it never looked likely to be good enough. Fowler, outdriven by 25 yards by the big-hitting Pieters, kept finding fairways and greens, and when he missed he made up for it by holing bunker shots (for an eagle at the par-five eighth) and crucial putts.

McIlroy has four times finished second on this course and fancied his chances of finally winning here, but it took him a long time to get going in the final round. He missed several fairways and, as is becoming the norm, failed to hole enough putts. So it says a great deal about the Northern Irishman's tenacity that, when it mattered most, he was able to birdie the 16th and eagle the final hole to finish with a 68 and a 72-hole total of 14 under par, level with Stenson.

Fowler was one ahead with two holes to play. Pieters found an awful lie with his drive at the 17th and was unable to reach the par four with his second, and although he salvaged his par, his chance appeared to be gone when Fowler chipped in for another birdie at the same hole, taking him to 16 under par.

Fowler bunkered his second at the par-five 18th and with Pieters hitting the green in two an eagle would have seen the Belgian draw level with Fowler, but he left the putt hanging on the lip. Fowler two-putted to win.

"I swung the club pretty well today and I am delighted to have won," Fowler said. "It was great fun to go toe to toe with Thomas, who played awesome golf today. We had a great field here this week, so this is special."

McIlroy said: "There was an 18-hole stretch in this tournament where I really didn't play terribly well. I didn't drive the ball well today either - it was the ninth hole before I found a fairway. There are a lot of positives to take from this week, but I didn't quite have it today and a 68 was the absolute best I could have done."

Spieth, who finished in a tie for fifth on 11 under par,  said: "We didn't have our A-game with us this week but I said to Michael [Greller, his caddie] coming down the 18th that we were looking good for a top-10 finish. I just didn't give myself enough chances and when I did, I could not get the putts to drop.

"This has been a fantastic event. A great course, fantastic facilities and a great field. I have always wanted to play here. Next week I am off to Singapore, which is another part of the world I have always wanted to see."

Dufner Delivers at CareerBuilder Challenge

Jason Dufner was trying to win on the PGA Tour for the first time since his triumph at the 2013 US PGA championship. He went into the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge leading the field, and after dicing with Adam Hadwin, David Lingmerth and Jamie Lovemark he found himself trailing by the time he reached the turn, having taken 37 shots.

The American then birdied the 10th, 11th and 12th holes and with Hadwin and Lovemark going backwards in a hurry, it was down to Dufner and Lingmerth for the title.

Lingmerth putted brilliantly all day long and when he made his sixth birdie of the day at the 15th he joined Dufner at 24 under par, three clear of the rest of the field. A birdie at the par-five 16th put Lingmerth one ahead. Could Dufner catch him again? He answered in the affirmative with his own birdie at the same hole. Now they were both 25 under.

Dufner's challenge appeared to end at the par three 17th, when he knocked his ball into the rocks surrounding the island green. Incredibly, he was able to play a shot from the rocks and lipped out for what would have been the most unlikely of birdies. Both men parred the final hole. Playoff.

And it was Dufner who emerged triumphant at the second playoff hole when Lingmerth found the water with his second shot. With the drought over at last, the chances are that we will once again see the very best of the American on a regular basis.

There was an encouraging performance by Phil Mickelson. After the two worst seasons of his career he has spent the winter working on his game and it is paying off. He never looked like winning but will take huge encouragement from the accuracy of his driving. He finished the week on 21 under par, tied for third with Andrew Loupe and Kevin Na, and will surely win again soon.


Highlights PGA Tour CareerBuilder Challenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZix0qUNi94


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Tags: rickier fowler PGA Tour european tour



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