Hatton victory adds to Mcilroy’s tale of near misses in Abu Dhabi
Tyrrell Hatton timed it to perfection once again in a Rolex Series event as Rory Mciloy suffered more disappointment in his bid to land the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for a first time.
Underlining the form that had seen him break into the world’s top 10 last year, Hatton produced a masterclass in a final-round head-to-head with overnight leader Mcilroy to claim an impressive fourshot victory.
The 29-year-old closed with a bogey-free six-under 66 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to finish with an 18-under-par 270 total as he landed a fourth Rolex Series title, joining Jon Rahm on that mark with the most successes in the European Tour’s showpiece events.
Australian Jason Scrivener stormed home in 29 to finish second on 14-under, with Mcilroy, a perennial bridesmaid in this tournament, having to settle for third spot on 13-under after a closing levelpar 72.
Marc Warren holed a monster putt, which was worth around $100,000, at the last for a 71 and a tie for fifth spot.
Mcilroy, pictured right, who set out with a one-shot lead, started his day with a booming 362-yard drive at the first and, though unable to turn that into a birdie, he quickly hit his stride.
A two-putt birdie at the par-5 second was matched by playing partner Hatton before the Northern Irishman rolled in a 25-footer at the third to extend his lead as he moved to 15-under. There was no hiding Mcilroy’s frustration, though, when he then three-putted the short fourth for a bogey, having dropped his first shot of the event at the same hole in the second round on Friday. A good chance to make amends was spurned at the fifth, where Tommy Fleetwood in the match ahead produced one of the most unlikely birdies of the week.
The Englishman, who had already picked up a shot at the second in the company of Warren, badly pushed his drive into the waste area but did well to get the next one close to the green before rolling in a 15-foot putt.
It would have been disappointing for Fleetwood when he then three-putted the par3 seventh, where Hatton was a lot braver than he intended with his tee shot minutes later but the subsequent birdie from 10 feet moved him into a tie for the lead with Mcilroy.
A sloppy bogey -6 from Mcil roy at the eighth then saw Hat ton hit the front on his own and his lead was quickly doubled as a 27-footer was converted for a birdie on the ninth, moving him to 15-under.
That became 16-under when the leader rolled in an even longer birdie putt to start his back nine, with Mcilroy matching that 4. A bogey for Mcilroy at the 11th left Hatton three in front and, after setting up his fifth birdie of the day with a lovely approach from the rough at the 13th, it had suddenly turned into a back-nine procession.
Hatton rounded off a brilliant effort by rolling in an 18-footer at the 16th for his sixth birdie of the day.
The victory lifted Hatton above Mcilroy in the world rankings to a career-high of fifth. "I'm definitely pinching myself, it's just very surreal to be that high in the world rankings," he said.