Rory McIlroy trails Martin Kaymer in Abu Dhabi despite hole in one

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jan/16/rory-mcilroy-hole-in-one-martin-kaymer-abu-dhabi

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This was the day on which a part of Rory McIlroy’s extraordinary life came full circle. As a nine-year-old playing the 6th hole at Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland, McIlroy recorded his first hole in one. Distance? 106 yards. Club? Nine-iron.

Fast forward to Abu Dhabi in 2015 and McIlroy, now the finest golfer in the world, produced his maiden ace as a tournament professional. The hole measured 177 yards this time but fittingly the club of choice was the same.

Two bounces, a spinning hop to the right and the ball was at the bottom of the cup. This was a special moment even without the endearing touch of history attached to it.

“You hear of guys never having hole in ones throughout their career,” a beaming McIlroy said. “There’s obviously a bit of skill involved but a bit of luck as well. I have come close, I have holed second shots, all that sort of thing. It was nice to get one out there finally.

“I must have had about 10 in my lifetime, bounce games and stuff, but the last one was in a pro-am a couple of years ago. Some of the previous ones haven’t actually been from very good shots but this was different. It looked good from the moment it left the club.”

The world No1 added: “It was unexpected; I had been playing well but not putting so good. So that took the putter out of it thankfully. I didn’t need to get the putter out on that hole.

“I felt like at that point I had missed a few opportunities and I had missed a couple of short putts on 13 and 14. So to be able to make up for that with a hole in one on 15 was nice. The beers are on me tonight.”

There could yet be cause for Sunday champagne. Any prospect of the Rickie and Rory show as the hallmark of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was undermined by a second-round 75 from Mr Fowler but there should still be excitement over McIlroy going head to head with Martin Kaymer.

Between them, McIlroy and Kaymer hold three of golf’s four majors. Kaymer can be a terrific frontrunner and such skills will be tested over the closing 36 holes here. The German leads McIlroy by two with the exciting Belgian prospect Thomas Pieters placed between the pair.

“It is nice to make holes in one and stuff but I wanted to make sure I was concentrating on the final three holes and didn’t let it overshadow what I was actually trying to do out there,” McIlroy said. “That is trying to get as close to the lead as possible. It will always be tough giving Martin a two-shot advantage over 36 holes around this place but I will try my best. He is obviously playing very well and I feel like I am playing good as well. So I will see if I can put some pressure on him.”

He added: “Martin has got a phenomenal record around here. I couldn’t think of a better way to start the season than to test yourself against one of the best players in the world, a two-time major champion, who plays this course so well.”

Kaymer added a 67 to his opening round of 64. The only difference between the US Open champion’s respective rounds came on the greens. In every other aspect Kaymer was once again imperious on Friday. “I will give it my best to get into the 20s [under par], I’ll say it that way,” said Kaymer, a three-times Abu Dhabi winner. “Right now I’m 13 under par which is a great score after two rounds.

“I think once you lead by four of five shots or even more, like I have done at the US Open, it is important to challenge yourself rather than looking to compare yourself to the other players.

“If someone comes close and has a good day, fair enough, you can’t change that but I think it is important to challenge yourself and then see how low you can get.”

Fowler’s challenge seriously, and probably fatally, stumbled with a triple-bogey eight on the 8th. He could not recover, playing the back nine in 38. Not for the first time in a high-profile golfing occasion, by the time he reached the 15th Fowler had to play second fiddle to his playing partner, McIlroy.