ABU DHABI // Rory McIlroy might not be the best at reciting the nuances of golf's Byzantine rule book, chapter and verse, but there clearly is nothing wrong with his ability to count.
As he birdied the last hole of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Sunday to finish his first start of 2014 in a tie for second place, another realization set in.
It was like indigestion after a good meal.
“I guess I’m standing here, thinking that I played one shot less than anyone else this week, but ended up not getting a trophy,” he said.
For the second time in three years, no less.
The world No 7 absorbed a two-stroke penalty in 2012 for an unwitting rules violation and finished a shot behind the winner, Robert Rock, then duplicated the feat this week when a two-shot penalty was added to his score on Saturday.
As if by the cruel force of fate he finished at 13 under, one shot behind Pablo Larrazabal.
Worse, it marked his third runner-up finish at Abu Dhabi, where he was seeking to become the first player to win all three European Tour events staged in the UAE.
He tried to reconcile all those painful facts after his closing 68 came up just short. The frustration was evident, just as it was when the penalty was assessed after the third round and he impulsively characterised the violation as a “stupid rule”.
“I can’t describe it,” McIlroy said. “You know, I feel like I’m standing here and I should be 15-under par for the tournament and win by one. But that’s the way it goes.
“I played the least shots of anyone this week. So, I mean, I can count it as a moral victory more than anything else.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. I’ve played well the whole week. It’s a very positive start to the season, so I’m not going to let one little negative ruin that.”
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
