Rory McIlroy bags yet another European Tour title, the UBS Hong Kong Open
Rory McIlroy surged to the top of the leaderboard at last week’s co-sanctioned European Tour event, the UBS Hong Kong Open, and has now considerably closed the gap to his nemesis Luke Donald who is poised firmly at the Race to Dubai money leader for the
moment. McIlroy had started off the event in thrilling fashion, grabbing the lead in the opening round of the event with a dazzling 64. He fell out of contention in the second and third rounds after posting 69 and 70 but recovered from his previous loss to
edge past the raging Alvaro Quiros and Frenchman Gregory Havret.
McIlroy carded five-under, 65 in his bogey-free round to finish for a 12-under, 68 on the aggregate, two shots clear of the nearest contender Havret.
“I’ve wanted to win this tournament so badly since that play-off in 2008,” said McIlroy, “I’ve had to wait a couple of years to get there, but to get this trophy in my hands is very special.”
McIlroy is currently the only potent threat to the world number Donald, who is also leading the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic. While Donald decided to take a break from mainstream golf in the last two weeks, McIlroy deemed it as a rare opportunity
to close the gap on the Race to Dubai Money List. Donald is hoping to finish as the money leader on both PGA and European Tours, marking the first precedent of its kind in the history of the sport. McIlroy earned € 341,724 from his Hong Kong Open victory and
is now trailing Donald by €789,788.
“That was one of the goals going out today, was to win this tournament to keep myself in with a shout next week. That's very dependent on what Luke does because he's got such a big lead - if I can somehow get myself into contention next week, you never know.”
McIlroy added.
For all the good things this year would be remembered in the history of the sport, Rory McIlroy and his surge to the stardom will be regarded as one of the brilliant discoveries for the sport. Just 22-years-old and on his third year on the professional circuit,
the young Irishman is poised at world number two on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) for the last several weeks and is threatening Luke Donald for the number one slot.
The next and the final event on the European Tour is set to kick off this week, the Dubai World Championship at the scenic Jumeirah Golf Estate, and will mark as the last event on the calendar. Some of the top rankings players from around the world will
be participating in the lucrative event including the top-50 on the OWGR. Defending champion Martin Kaymer will be hoping to retain the title amidst a nail-biting showdown between McIlroy and Donald.
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