Heading into the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a lot of the attention was placed upon the World Number 1, Rory McIlroy, who was making his season debut as well as Martin Kaymer, who’s had a remarkable track record at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. After rounds of 67-66-71-66, Rory, who put the new Nike Engage Wedges in the bag, would finish the tournament in 2nd place at 18-under par (his fourth career runner-up here). He nearly holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. Through most of the week though, Kaymer was the one who was in control.
Martin Kaymer, who is a three time winner of this event, started the first three rounds of the tournament by shooting 64-67-65. Entering the final round, he had a six-shot lead at 20-under par. This lead grew to 10-shots at one point and the final round almost seemed to be just a formality for the two-time Major champion. However, after a bogey at 6, double bogey at 9 and triple bogey at 13, the tournament was definitely up for grabs. Kaymer would finish his day shooting 3-over par 75 to finish the tournament at 17-under par for solo third. Although he was shell-shocked at the result, Kaymer will take the positives out of the first three days and hopefully build towards a successful 2015 year.
The man who would take control of the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was 22-year-old Frenchman Gary Stal, who was ranked World Number 357. He started the day with an eight shot deficit, but closed his final round off with a seven-under par 65 for a tournament total of 19-under par. This would be Stal’s maiden European Tour title at one of the biggest events of the year. Stal is a two-time Challenge Tour winner and had his career best finish on the European Tour last week at the South Africa Open Championship (T5 finish). Take a look at the highlights of Stal’s victory and Kaymer’s collapse in the video above.
Source: Golf Channel
