Abu Dhabi: While Martin Kaymer had a bewildered look on his face after letting go a 10-stroke lead in the final round and handing the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship title to the unheralded Gary Stal, tournament director Peter German would have been a relieved man.
The course had undergone significant changes for the tournament’s 10th anniversary but for the first three days of the tournament, three-time champion Kaymer showed the same class that he had displayed here in the past and played as if he was in his own backyard.
Such was his dominance that India’s star golfer Jeev Milkha Singh rated Kaymer’s performance as out of the world. “He is in a league of his own and making a mockery of every one of us. It’s a joke,” said Singh, as at that stage, Kaymer had increased his overall lead to 10 with three birdies after the first four holes.
German, who too, was watching Kaymer’s astonishing run of form from the sidelines, by now was also bracing himself up to crown the World No 12 for the fourth time, at the course that he has been developing for the last 10 seasons.
“Well, he is playing amazing golf and a different sort of golf to say the least to anybody else. You have to take your hats off to him. I mean it is fantastic purely from a golfing point of view but from a tournament point of view we would have liked it to finish close,” said German. By the end of the day, his wish for a thriller had come true.
After going 47 holes without dropping a shot, Kaymer was punished severely for his lax approach. A bogey, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey in the space of eight holes after being forced to take two penalty drops saw a complete meltdown in the 30-yr-old’s game. Another win for Kaymer would have taken away a bit of sheen off the capital tournament but Stal’s win has avoided that.
A shell-shocked Kaymer didnt have words to react to the sudden slump. “I dont really know how to put it in words. It was surpising and shocking,” said a stunned Kaymer.
A lot of credit should also go to Stal for hanging in there and keeping his focus all through the last round. He kept building on his play and eventually took advantage of events that unfolded behind him.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy, who finished one stroke behind on the second spot, would have also learnt a lesson or two from this tournament. The Irishman would be disappointed at having resigned himself to his fate a bit early and had he been a lot more aggressive, he could have ended his title drought here.
“A little stretch yesterday and today sort of cost me the tournament. I struggled with my putting. I didn’t putt as well as I would have liked,” said McIlroy, whose runner-up finish was his fourth in five years.
For Stal, it was the first European tour win and undoubtedly, it would be a huge stepping stone for the youngster and he simply couldn’t believe what he had accomplished. “It’s really crazy. It’s unbelievable to win, an incredible feeling,” said a beaming Stal.
Overall this year’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championship had the action, drama and excitement that golf lovers long for and more importantly, it lived up to its tag line ‘Expect the Unexpected’ and has clearly set things up well for an intriguing Race to Dubai.
