McIlroy Wins Race to Dubai

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Rory McIlroy described it as a “great feeling” to win The Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.

The Northern Irishman had already been confirmed as European Number One before his runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai courtesy of a remarkable summer.

Having won The European Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship in May, McIlroy went on to add The Open Championship and US PGA Championship either side of a first World Golf Championships victory at the Bridgestone Invitational.

“It's a great feeling to know that I've played the best golf throughout the season of any of the guys for the second time in three years, it's really nice,” said McIlroy, who finished two shots behind Henrik Stenson at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“I never expected 14 under to have a remote chance of winning this golf tournament.

“It just seemed like no one really took the tournament by the scruff of the neck and went with it. The two guys, Rafa and Henrik, were on 16 for quite a while, and sort of stayed there.

“I saw Rafa went back to 15 under as I birdied 15 to get to 14 under and I thought if I could post 16, I might have a chance. 16 would have been good enough for a play-off in the end.

“I just didn't play well enough to win this week, and if I had of won by playing like that, it would have been a bit of a surprise.

“A lot of positives heading into 2015 and something I'm really pleased about this year is that consistency that I've shown in my golf. I haven't finished outside the top 25. My last few results have been very consistent, very good, and a lot of good stuff going into next year.

“I feel like, as you said, this year has been full of up-and-downs, mainly ups, which is a great thing.

“I learned a lot from it and I feel like I came through this year stronger and wiser, and I can go into 2015 in a much better place. 

“I'm happy with the success that I've had, and I feel like there's been a lot that I've learned this year, as well, and that's a great thing going into the future.”

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Stenson Retains DP World Title

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Henrik Stenson set his sights on an elusive Major Championship after successfully defending a title for the first time in his career following a thrilling finish to the DP World Tour Championship.

Stenson carded a closing 70 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish 16 under par, two shots ahead of World Number One Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson.

Shane Lowry finished a shot further back in fifth.

The victory ensured he finished second in The Race to Dubai with 4981093 points behind McIlroy, whose points tally with the bonus pool added up to 7149503 points.

It also took Stenson second in the World Ranking, but the 38 year old said: "It would be nice to have been ranked the world's best at some point, but if I had the choice I would go for a Major Championship so I am going to try and be in good shape for them next year."

Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello held a two shot lead with seven holes to play only to bogey the 12th and run up double bogeys on the 16th and 17th after finding water on both occasions.

Stenson had also found trouble on a rollercoaster back nine, hitting his tee shot out of bounds on the 11th to gift playing partner Cabrera-Bello that two-shot advantage, but a brilliant five iron tee shot on the par three 17th produced a tap-in birdie to reclaim the lead.

McIlroy and Rose had missed birdie putts on the 18th from near-identical positions, while Dubuisson had to settle for a birdie after almost holing out from a greenside bunker.

"It feels great," added Stenson, who finished in style with a birdie on the 18th. "I'm exhausted to say the least. It was hot out there and tricky on the back nine. I did not play my best and had a shocking hole on 11.

"I walked up to the tee with too much club in my hand and instead of changing I tried to cut a two-iron but hit a push, slice, shank straight into the buildings.

"That knocked me back but I did not give up. I just had to dig in there and wait for something to happen. I had a couple of close calls this year to get my win and it was not to be. It's been close but eventually you get something if you stick around and I surely did that."

McIlroy failed to take advantage of a lucky break on the 18th when his tee shot hit a rock in the creek which runs through the middle of the fairway and bounced to safety.

Rose was ultimately left to rue a slow start to the week - he was four over par after ten holes of the opening round - and his failure to pick up a shot on the 17th or 18th after a brilliant escape from the trees on the 15th had set up his third birdie in a row.

"All week I was clawing my way back, right from the start on Thursday," Rose said. "Today I did everything I needed to do early in my round and made a few poor mistakes in the middle of the round. That was where I struggled.

"But all in all, lots of positives and a good week. It's a little bit like Shanghai (the BMW Masters) where I had a good chance there as well after a poor start (four over after four holes). But at least it tells me I'm playing well and getting myself into contention. It's never easy to win every time."

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Augusta Awaits Master Lowry

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Shane Lowry finished fifth at the DP Wolrd Tourc Championship to move into the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 50 and all-but secure a Masters Tournament debut next April.

Speaking about breaking into the world's top 50, Lowry said: "It was one of the goals for me playing these last four tournaments. I've been between 52 and 54 in the world for a month or so now and I felt like I have been playing the golf to have the high finish to get in there.

"I just wasn't scoring well and finishing 15th to 25th. A nice, high finish this week is going to do it for me so I'm thrilled and I can't wait till next April."

It has been a good week for Lowry where he ended joint leader on Thursday with world number one Rory McIlroy.

Then on Friday the Clara man marked another success when carded a hole-in-one on the thirteenth hole from 183 yards

"It was a beautiful shot, a perfect number for my six iron," said Lowry.

"It's my first in tournament play and only my second ever so it was pretty exciting. It was hard to go on and play the next hole after that."

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McIlroy Doubles Release Stenson

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Henrik Stenson remained on course to achieve a personal milestone worth more than €1.6 million as Rory McIlroy suffered a nightmare two-hole spell in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Stenson has never successfully defended a title in his career but goes into the final round at Jumeirah Golf Estates tied for the lead on 14 under par with Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

World number one McIlroy had caught Stenson at the top of the leaderboard when he carded his fourth birdie of the day on the 10th, only to run up back-to-back double bogeys on the 12th and 13th.

The four-time major winner repaired some of the damage with birdies on the 14th and 18th to card a 70 and finish alongside Victor Dubuisson, Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjorn Olesen on 10 under, one shot behind former US Open champion Justin Rose.

Stenson felt he had “hit the wall” during the second round at the end of a long season, but admitted the prospect of winning the first prize of €1,050,000 and securing a bonus of €644,000 for finishing second in the Race to Dubai behind McIlroy was providing extra motivation.

“I felt a little stronger today but I wasn’t exactly jumping out of bed this morning,” Stenson said. “But what do you expect at 38 years old? I’m a little low on energy but when the mind wants something you can pull through.

“It would be great to win. It’s a great championship and it would mean a lot to defend a title and get the win. It’s been a good year but when you assess it you always look at the trophies and there hasn’t been one yet.”

Stenson carded four birdies in a flawless 68 but also missed two putts from inside three feet and added: “I was striking the ball better than yesterday but was not quite as hot on the greens and left a couple of shots out there.

“All in all it was a good day and we’re still at the races so I am pretty pleased.”

McIlroy was left to rue his mini meltdown on the back nine, where he drove into a fairway bunker on the 12th and compounded the error by three putting, before duffing two chips from right of the green on the 13th.

“The 12th and 13th ruined the scorecard a bit,” said the 25-year-old, who had already secured his second Race to Dubai title in three years after four wins this season.

“It makes life a little more difficult for me tomorrow. I need to be aggressive, I need to go at pins, hit it close and make some putts. I felt a little better out there today than yesterday so knew if I stayed patient the birdies would come. I got on a nice run with three birdies in a row from the fifth and another one at 10, but unfortunately the back nine was not quite as good as the front.

“It was annoying to follow one double bogey with another. I was a little frustrated but it was nice to get a couple back and at least keep myself in touch.”

Shane Lowry remained on seven under after a round of 72.

Graeme McDowell is in a share of 41st place.

Michael Hoey carded a third round 70 after a 78 on Friday.

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McIlroy Slips as Stenson Storms

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Rory McIlroy’s challenge stuttered on the back-nine on day two of the DP World Tour Championships as Henrick Stenson cruised to an inward 32 to return a six-under 66 which got him to 10 under at the halfway stage  at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Stenson put himself on course to retain his DP World Tour Championship title as he roared into a two-shot lead after the second round in Dubai.

A raft of earlier starters had given encouragement to the first-round leaders with some excellent scores, with Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Justin Rose making huge strides up the leaderboard.

Cabrera-Bello threatened something truly special on the Earth Course as he birdied the opening five holes and picked further shots at the eighth and 10th.

But hopes of the European Tour’s first sub-60 round ended when the Spaniard bogeyed the next two, although he bounced back to eagle the long 14th before he rolled in another birdie putt at 17 as he carded a 64 to set the clubhouse target at seven under.

Rose, who was four over after 10 holes in his first round before salvaging a 71, also hit the birdie trail as he cantered to the turn in 33 and added four more birdies after the turn to hit the front on eight under.

But Rose took the gloss off his round as he ran up a scrappy six at the last to card a 66, before Kristoffer Broberg birdied four of the last six to join the clubhouse leaders at seven under.

McIlroy, meanwhile, birdied the opening hole for the second day running before embarking on a battle with an occasionally errant driver and a cold putter as he put together a run of 10 straight pars.

A bunkered drive at the 12th led to his first bogey of the week, but he hit back with birdies at the 14th and 15th before blotting his card again at 16 with three putts from 10 feet.

The world No 1, already assured of the Race to Dubai title for the second time, responded with a two at the 17th and he scrambled a par at the last after blocking his drive into water.

McIlroy’s two-under 70 left him two adrift of the defending champion, who birdied three of the first five holes while giving one back at the fourth.

The Swede’s long game was in good order after the turn as he birdied the 10th and 13th, and he added two more in the last three holes to claim the outright lead.

McIlroy shares second place with Danny Willett, who fired seven birdies in a 67, while Richie Ramsay earned a place alongside the world No 1 for the third round after a three-under 69.

Shane Lowry, who shared the overnight lead with McIlroy, struggled early on as he bogeyed three of the first four holes while managing birdies at the second and ninth.

But the Irishman provided the highlight of the day at the 183-yard par-three 13th, where his perfectly struck mid-iron pitched six feet short of the pin and rolled gently into the cup for a superb hole-in-one.

Lowry parred in to card a 71 which leaves him on seven under alongside Cabrera-Bello, Rose, Broberg and Thorbjorn Olesen (70), while English pair David Howell and Tyrrell Hatton are a further stroke adrift.