Abu Dhabi

Rickie Fowler had a dream start to his maiden campaign in the Middle East at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship playing alongside World No. 1 Rory McIlroy in the opening round but by the end of the second, the wheels of his campaign had come apart.

“Definitely, I didn’t fire on all cylinders this week,” said the American ace, who even managed to take a one-shot lead over McIlroy through seven holes on Friday but later slipped down the standings after a three-over 75 following a triple bogey on eighth. At two-under, he made the cut but thereafter it was just a struggle for Fowler and at the end of final round on Sunday, he failed to make much ground and ended up with a two under par 286.

“I am definitely disappointed with what kind of game I played over here. Obviously, I got off to a nice start on Thursday and after that it hasn’t felt right in the last three days. Got some work to do to get ready for the season and see things turn around. Bit disappointed with all parts of the game,” said Fowler, who felt he needed to improve in all departments of the game.

“If you don’t drive well, then you find the rough and then it is difficult to carry on from there,” added Fowler, who brushed aside the notion that his unimpressive start would anyway effect his aspirations for the season ahead.

“It’s not a big deal. I had missed some cuts earlier on last year and obviously it turned out one of the best years of my career. It’s just part of the process to get ready to get into good form for the rest of the season,” said the 26-yr-old.

Fowler was pretty impressed with what he came across at the capital course and was looking forward to travel to this part of the world in future.

“I really enjoyed my time in Abu Dhabi. Obviously, HSBC is a great sponsor for the event and what they do for golf is quite amazing. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to comeback to this region whether it is Abu Dhabi, Dubai; anywhere here. The weather has been great, the fans and the course is in perfect shape. Unfortunately, I didn’t play very well,” said Fowler, who has set sight on the Augusta Masters and felt all his preparations are a part of the build-up towards it.

“My main goal at the start of this year is to get ready for Augusta. I got plenty of time and would like to use every week as we go as a stepping stone to be ready for Augusta. Definitely, there is some work to do as I want to go to Augusta well prepared and win the first Major out there.”