Abu Dhabi: What one witnessed yesterday from Rory McIlroy at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, where he finished tied for second with Phil Mickelson, was his tremendous fighting spirit when he had his back to the wall.
Penalised two shots for a foot fault on Saturday, McIlroy was a man on a mission on Sunday.
He not only fought his way back up the leaderboard, but also kept himself in title contention until the end.
Unsurprisingly, the Northern Irishman was feeling proud of his tremendous effort.
“No, I can’t describe the penalty that denied me the win. You know I feel like I’m standing here and I should be 15-under par for the tournament and won by one [shot]. But that’s the way it goes. I played the least shots than anyone this week. So, I mean, I can count it as a moral victory more than anything else,” said McIlroy/
The 24-year-old, who had his fiancée Caroline Wozniacki for company on the final day, said he was a little disappointed to miss out on the title after coming so close.
“Yeah, obviously I’m standing here a little frustrated that I didn’t get the victory. This is going to be my third second-place finish at this tournament and, you know, I’ve had a few good finishes here and not quite won it.”
McIlroy, who has only finished once lower than 11th in his six appearances here, revealed he felt as if he had continued from where he left off last season.
“ I’m happy. I came in here telling everyone that I was really happy with my game and done some good work and felt like it was coming together for me at the end of last year. I’ve continued that. Yes, I’m really excited for the rest of the season. I’ve got a week off now to prepare for Dubai [for the Desert Classic[ and I will give it another run there and see if I can get the win there.”
