Rickie Fowler pulls out one-shot win in Abu Dhabi
Rickie Fowler bolstered his reputation on Sunday as a player who doesn't blink, winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship by a shot over Thomas Pieters and by two over Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.
Fowler started Sunday by finishing off a 7-under 65 in the third round at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, earning a two-shot edge for the final 18. He then got off to a hot start in the final pairing, making birdie on the first two holes.
Fowler, however, stumbled on the par-3 seventh, nearly putting his tee shot in a water hazard, ultimately making double bogey.
“Probably one of my few bad swings of the day,” he said. “That was the wrong place, wrong time.”
A hole later, Fowler recouped his losses with a hole-out from a bunker for eagle 3 on the eighth hole. The lead was three heading to the back nine, which Fowler played expertly with a string of pars that never really had him in serious trouble of losing the lead – that is, until McIlroy made a furious run at the finish. After a dropped shot on the 11th hole, McIlroy played the final seven holes in 5 under, including a chip-in on the 16th and a thunderous eagle at the par-5 finisher. Ultimately, that rally wasn't enough.
“Not quite what I wanted,” McIlroy said. “It seems like this could be the tournament that I just can't quite master. But it's been good. I've played a lot of good golf here at this golf course in Abu Dhabi.”
Perhaps sensing he needed just a little cushion, Fowler came through in what is becoming his customary clutch fashion. Just on the fringe with his approach to the par-4 17th, Fowler executed a perfect chip shot, holing it for what turned out to be the winning birdie.
On the 18th hole, Fowler dodged a near eagle from Pieters. The Oklahoma State product two-putted for par to cap off a final-round 69 and a one-stroke win at 16-under 272.
Now, Fowler has four wins in impressive fields in nine months, starting with The Players last May, continuing with the Scottish Open, Deutsche Bank Championship and, now in Abu Dhabi. With the win, Fowler is now officially in the Big Four of the Official World Golf Ranking. The order goes: Jordan Spieth, who finished T-5 on Sunday, Jason Day, McIlroy and Fowler.
Then again, no one needed the ranking algorithm to tell them what they could see with their own eyes. It's not just the high tops and the joggers; Fowler is a standout player who cannot be ignored.
“We had a very strong field here,” Fowler said. “Not just Rory and Jordan, but Henrik and down the line. A lot of guys were playing well."
However, as Fowler has himself said – perhaps to dangle an orange carrot in front of his own face – he wants a major before he considers himself in the company of the only players ahead of him on golf's ladder. The more often Fowler beats Spieth, McIlroy and Day, the more likely that goal seems.
Or, as Fowler said, "This is a step in the right direction.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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