Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The 2016 European golfing season may already be a few months old yet it is the Abu Dhabi championship that heralds the start of the celebrated Arab Swing and sees competition intensify.
European springtime temperatures and the money on offer, despite the economic challenges facing the region, are two of the main reasons that so many of the world’s top golfers arrive to challenge for the prizes the Middle East courses offer.
While many are not eligible, the highest-profile players are able to secure entry to the tournaments through an exemption from the sponsors, in this case HSBC.
It was one of those, Rickie Fowler, who produced two moments of magic to hold off late charges from Thomas Pieters, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson to win his second European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, in the process becoming the first ‘sponsor’s pick’ to win this tournament since Chris DiMarco in 2006, the first year of this event.
Entering the tournament as the world number six (rising to number four following this victory), Fowler had held a three-shot lead at the turn but while he made seven straight pars on the back nine, McIlroy came home in 31 with an eagle at the last and Stenson came back in 32 to sit one shot behind the leader in the clubhouse.
Fowler was not to be outdone, however, and he chipped in on the 17th to open up a two-shot lead, with a conservatively-played par up the last enough to keep him at 16 under and hand him a one-shot victory over Pieters, who birdied the final hole.
The 27-year-old had a few nervous moments earlier in his round, most notably on the seventh where a double-bogey saw his lead cut to a single shot. However, demonstrating how he is hoping to turn the ‘big three’ (Spieth, Day and McIlroy) into the ‘big four’, he responded by holing from a bunker for an eagle on the eighth.
His win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship represents the sixth win of Fowler’s career and his fourth since May 2015 – yet his first in the Middle East. He becomes the eighth different winner at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club – a course now managed by Troon – the same as the Royal Golf Club here in Bahrain.
While several players will be skipping the next leg of the Middle East tour in Qatar this weekend, they are likely to return for the Dubai Championship a week later as focus turns to their preparations for the first Major of the year and their opportunity to don the Green Jacket placed on the shoulders of the winner of the Augusta Masters.
Stenson showed no ill effects from his recent knee surgery as he came close to completing the set of Gulf state wins after his previous victories at The Commercialbank Qatar Masters, the Dubai Desert Classic and the DP World Tour Championship.
It was another close call for McIlroy who had to make do with a share of third after finishing second here in four of the last five years, while Pieters missed out on a third European Tour title after claiming two wins in three weeks last summer.
World number one Jordan Spieth finished with a 68 to lead the group at 11 under alongside Byeong-hun An, Alejandro Cañizares, Branden Grace, Joost Luiten and Marcel Siem.
Ian Poulter had looked the most likely challenger to Fowler in the early stages as he opened with a pair of birdies and then holed a lengthy putt on the fourth to get to 12 under and within striking distance.
McIlroy was six shots off the lead as he stood on the 12th tee after three bogeys and two birdies but he birdied the 12th and 13th before a brilliant chip-in on the 16th. A stunning approach to the last and a curling putt then gave him his second eagle of the week on that hole to put the pressure on Fowler.
For the second time of the day, the Ryder Cup star responded magnificently, deftly chipping from the rough on the right of the green on the 17th to get to 16 under and keep Pieters at bay up the last.
Its understood that the Greg Norman-designed Almouj Golf Course (formerly known as The Wave) has recently applied to join the Arab Swing, having cut its teeth by hosting several Challenge Tour events. This stunning course that incorporates a panoramic ocean view and the spectacular Hajar mountains would be a welcome addition. If approved, this would leave little room for Bahrain and dent the aspirations of countless local golfers.
However, as governments tighten their belts, this still allows an opportunity to carve what could prove to be a more popular niche by welcoming the Seniors tour as highlighted by GulfWeekly and supported by Royal Golf Club course designer Colin Montgomerie – an event that has helped stimulate Bahrain’s economy before.
Of course, falling oil prices do not always represent bad news – presumably it makes the oil-rolled maintenance of the browns at courses such as Awali that much cheaper!
