As much as the European Tour and Rory McIlroy had to thank each other for what turned out to be a fabulous DP World Tour Championship for both, the immense contribution of Andy Sullivan cannot be forgotten.
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Thanks to McIlroy and his magic, it turned out to be the best tournament in its short seven-year history. The golf was exciting and even better than the two previous thrillers – when Robert Karlsson needed a play-off to beat Ian Poulter in 2010 and when McIlroy birdied the last five holes to beat Justin Rose by two shots in 2012.
More importantly, from the perspective of the Tour and sponsors, it attracted a record crowd in excess of 65,200 fans over the four days. McIlroy, on the other hand, could play only because the Tour gave him special permission.
In normal circumstances, by not playing minimum 12 events before the seasonending championship, he would not have been eligible.
Big thank you to everyone that gave me support last week on and off the course. And can’t wait for Sulli’s army to be back out in force soon
— Andy Sullivan (@andysulligolf) November 24, 2015
So, thanks to the Tour’s decision – a wise one to take into account that he would have reached that number if he did not have the ankle injury – McIlroy played and won what was an important title for him at the end of a frustrating season. McIlroy may have been the star, but for me, Sullivan was the supporting actor who walked away with all the fan adulation.
And I cannot shrug off the feeling that McIlroy’s brilliance on Sunday was fuelled by Sullivan’s resilience.
As well as the world No. 3 played on the front nine, the Englishman seemed to have all the answers. The chip-in he had on the ninth hole was as impressive as McIlroy’s bogey-putt from 40 feet on the 17th.
And ‘Team Sulli’, a group of 30 people that travelled from Sullivan’s golf club in Nuneaton and cheered him through the 72 holes, was the best thing that has happened to the tournament outside the ropes. They created a unique atmosphere and did a brilliant job of cheering their man and keeping him pumped up.
Sullivan may have fallen short of getting his name etched on the trophy, but he did a brilliant job of winning hearts.
Senior moment
Australian Peter Senior is making a habit of crashing youngster’s parties. On Sunday, Senior won his third Australian Masters title, setting another age record in a tournament that featured some of the best players from Down Under, including former world No. 1 Adam Scott.
On a day when Scott finished with a frustrating 77, Senior became the oldest player to win the Australian Masters at age 56. In 2013, he had won the Australian Open at age 53. And that’s not all… he even won the Australian PGA after crossing 50, when he was 51.
Just to compare it with the major tours, Sam Snead is the oldest to win on the PGA Tour, triumphing at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at age 52 years and 10 months, while on the European Tour, that honour belongs to Miguel Angel Jimenez, who won the 2014 Open de Espana at 50 years and four months.
His reward for the win: he jumped from 1,694 in the world rankings to 452.
No longer the bridesmaid
American Kevin Kisner tried very hard but he still could not hide the disappointment of finishing second in the WGC-HSBC Champions a couple of weeks in Shanghai. The 31-year-old came close to winning his maiden PGA Tour title there in extraordinary circumstances, but was pipped to the post by Scotland’s Russell Knox in the closing stages.
Four TOUR players had a win in the fall and another top-3: 1. Kevin Kisner 2. Russell Knox 3. Justin Thomas 4. Graeme McDowell
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) November 24, 2015
It was his fourth second-place finish of the year. It was a wonder that Kisner could actually play the tournament, having suffered a severe back injury the week before and not even having a look at the Sheshan course before teeing off for his first round.
But momentum is an amazing thing in golf and Kisner was just brilliant in winning the RSM Classic last week, finishing on 22-under par, six better than runner-up Kevin Chappell.
Stats of the Week
So, just how good was Rory McIlroy in his two competitive weeks in Dubai in 2015? Here’s a look at his combined stats from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and DP World Tour Championship:
2 – wins in two starts
8 – total rounds played, and all eight were sub-par efforts (66, 64, 66, 70, 68, 68, 65, 66)
43 – under-par aggregate for his eight rounds
50 – birdies in the 144 holes played. That is 6.25 per round.
120 – greens hit in regulation
Quote of the Week
“I’ve been doing a lot of lift, clean and place the last three weeks, and I literally got into auto pilot. I was thinking this is going to be a better story with my mates if I make it.” – Graeme McDowell, after being assessed a one-stroke penalty for touching his ball during the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour thinking they were still playing lift, clean and place. Seventeen of his last 24 rounds were played with preferred lies.