Harrington shows he still has right stuff as Lowry breaks under early season inquisition
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 22: Victor Perez of France poses for a photo with the trophy after winning the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Golf Course on January 22, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Shane Lowry's emotional start to the season continued with a second successive week of Abu Dhabi blues as Pádraig Harrington came up just short in his bid to become the oldest winner in DP World Tour history.
Just a week after going pointless in the Hero Cup, Lowry was hoping to notch his second win in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (and cancel the disappointment of a 77 in the final group last year) but ended up nine shots behind France's Victor Perez after a closing 76.
Perez (30) came out on top on the cavalry charge for the title and even after following a holed bunker shot at the 17th with a closing bogey six, his six-under 66 was good enough for a one-shot win over Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg (67) and Australia's Min Woo Lee (68) on 18-under par to top the Race to Dubai and move to second in the Ryder Cup standings.
Lowry, who insisted he should not lose confidence after losing four matches in the Hero Cup, should tell himself the same things again in Dubai this week despite undoing the trojan work of the first three days with a fragile Sunday performance.
Tentative from the off, he made early birdies at the second and fifth but was never in control and sandwiched a miscued three-foot birdie putt at the seventh between bogeys at the sixth and ninth.
As Perez powered clear of the field with six birdies in the first 11 holes, Lowry could not keep pace and while he birdied the 12th and 13th, he unravelled after a bogey at the 14th.
Out for the count, he would go on to bogey the 15th, triple bogey the 16th after two trips to the ocean and three-putt the 17th but will be keen to bounce back with Rory McIlroy to beat this week.
In contrast, the indefatigable Harrington (51) charged to within two shots of Perez with five birdies in seven holes from the seventh before the birdies dried up and his closing 67 left him just two shots behind in solo fourth on 16-under
"I would have given myself two weeks to get myself showing a bit of form," said Harrington, who was left to rue a three-putt bogey from eight feet at the sixth and a level par tally for the par fives. "So it's great I was genuinely in contention, and a good thing is that I felt nice and relaxed."
Seamus Power returns to the US having tied for 20th on 10-under after a frustrating 69, finishing the week ranked second for strokes gained from tee to green but 65th for putting, which is one of his strengths.
"Same as the last couple of days— frustrated," said Power, who never got it going on the greens after an opening 66. "I played better than that and that's the annoying thing. I just couldn't get the momentum turned around, but there was a lot of good stuff, which is the most encouraging part this early in the season."
As for the Ryder Cup, he said: "There's going to be a lot of chatter before the team is picked, but if I play well and play my game, it will take care of itself."
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - Strokes Gained Final
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Victor Perez
“Feels fantastic. I thought you always need a bit of fortune and there's always the deciding shots coming down the stretch that can make or break. To hole that bunker shot on 17 is probably going to be a highlight for a little bit I hope. I'm not expecting the guys not to do incredible shots but yeah, I was delighted with that, and six was enough on 18.
“I was just trying to fly the ball all the way to the hole and if it came up a bit heavy was probably going it release down to the hole and probably have an eight-footer for par but I was expecting Sebastian to hole his putt for birdie.
“In my head, I was going best case scenario, probably one ahead and maybe even going into the last hole and I come up with a two-shot lead which is always massive because you know, the other person is going to have to do something great and you're going to have to do something poor, which I did, but it was enough with a six.
“I felt like I had a great preparation. I had a really big break of work that I was able to do, which is difficult and rare to have time off. I think now the season is so packed. There are so many events. It's so hard to train. You either train or you rest. It's hard to prepare.
“I was actually able to have a nice block. I decided not to play in December to focus on the season ahead with all the objectives that are coming up with the ten cards for the PGA TOUR. There is the Ryder Cup; there is so much going on.
“Last week was a nice glimpse of where my game was at but again, it's match play. You have a partner that's going to help you out. Guido (Migliozzi) bailed me out many of times last week where it made me look good and all of a sudden you're playing your own. I had a really good single against Jordan (Smith) on Sunday, which gave me some confidence, but again it's one round and it doesn't really mean anything.
“To come out and put it together for 72 holes on a tough golf course with the wind, having played only one round with cool weather on Friday morning, yeah, I was delighted with the victory.”
Leona and the Legends
At the LPGA's Tournament of Champions, Leona Maguire's closing 69 left her tied ninth on six-under at Lake Nona, ten strokes behind winner Brooke Henderson.
The Canadian shot 70 to win my four shots from Sweden’s Maia Stark (69) and England’s Charley Hull (69) on 16-under.
Meanwhile, Belfast's Damian Mooney was the only Irishman to make the 54-hole cut at the Legends Tour Q-School in Turkey. He goes into today's final round in 17th on two-under after a 71, just three shots outside the top five who will win cards.
