Rafa Cabrera Bello, Special to Gulf News
I shot a final round of 73 for a four-round total of 284 (4-under par) to finish tied 39th in the 2021 DP World Tour Championship. It also ensured I finished 34th in the season long 2021 Race to Dubai.
To summarise my week: I managed four birdies in rounds 1, 2 and 4 and three in round 3. Two bogeys in each of the first three rounds and three bogeys and a double in the final round.
Overall it was a steady week and a disappointing last round that slipped me down 16 places on the day.
Congratulations to Collin Morikawa for his tremendous double victory in both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai. What a great year it has been for Collin and let’s all hope we see more of him on the DP World Tour in the coming years and especially here in Dubai.
He is already confirmed to play in the Dubai Desert Classic, so that is a treat for all golfing fans just around the corner in January.
In modern golf there are just small margins, I am still finding it hard to believe that Rory McIlroy, seemingly in control of the tournament, went from a hopeful birdie on 15 to a bogey when he hit a ‘perfect’ second shot that struck the pin and rebounded into the bunker. So unlucky, and it changed the momentum for Rory in that one moment. The golfing gods were against him on Sunday and an eight shot swing to Morikawa over the last seven holes and last 90 minutes of a dramatic afternoon, showed that when you are out of position, the Earth Course is not a pushover for the world’s best golfers.
Also congratulations to Brendan Lawlor for winning the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) Dubai Finale on Saturday. A fine performance and the European Tour and DP World should be applauded for this initiative.
Next for me is a few days’ break at home here in Dubai with my immediate family, enjoying the weather and perhaps some sightseeing and activities in Dubai.
There are so many things to see and do in Dubai including the water parks, the beach at my sponsors JA The Resort and Expo 2020, but we never seem to find time to do much with such a young family. We all have so many challenges and time-consuming initiatives, but I always ensure I enjoy our family time, and definitely have no regrets.
Then I am off later in the week to our other home in the Canary Islands and my birthplace in Spain, to see the Cabrera Bello family.
My next outing of golf will be back in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi on the DP World Tour.
