Abu Dhabi: Unheralded Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal shot a final-round 67 to finish on 14-under par 274 and lift the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – and then credited his success to a mystery man.
It was the 30-year-old from Barcelona’s third European Tour title, made all the more special by the fact that he saw off world number five Phil Mickelson (69) and number seven Rory McIlroy (68), who were tied for second on 275.
After his stunning victory, an elated Larrazabal was quick to pay tribute to an undisclosed mentor or friend.
He said: “I have a person who takes care of [things[, and that person is the reason why we are here today. I’m not going to say his name because he doesn’t want to. But that guy is the reason why I am next to this trophy and I really want to thank this guy. He was there for me, for my golf game. The best thing that could happen to me is to have met this guy, so thanks to him.”
The 30-year-old, who won the 2011 BMW International Open in Germany and Open de France in 2008, declined to reveal what he did differently coming into the tournament.
“If you tell your secrets, someone else is going to do them and I’m not going to let you or anyone know that. If you guys go to El Prat back in Barcelona, maybe some day you can find out who this guy is. But I’m not going to tell you who he is and what he does,” added Larrazabal, bursting into laughter.
Larrazabal believes his victory at the Abu Dhabi Golf Course is the perfect boost for the season ahead.
“It means a lot, playing against who I played today. Obviously I play against myself, but I knew who I had nearby on my group and I knew who I had behind me. You know it’s been a long journey and a lot of hard work,” said Larrazabal, adding: “Only my team, my family and I know how much I work for it. [I have had] no holidays, not too many days off this winter, [I’ve just been] working to arrive properly in Abu Dhabi.”
Despite the success, Larrazabal was in no mood to dwell much on his future in terms of challenging for Majors and playing in the Ryder Cup.
“I don’t know about Augusta. It’s been 11 years since I was there and I was carrying a golf bag, caddying for my brother. So I don’t know. I know on TV it looks great. If I can perform in these conditions, then I can perform everywhere,” said Larrazabal, son of a fish farmer from Santander in northern Spain.
Larrazabal, who had returned to Spain in 2002 after studying in the US had wanted to turn professional straight away.
However, his father had other plans and made him work on his family fish farm to understand the value of money. Larrazabal only turned professional in 2004, therefore.
