On Friday, the European Tour’s chief executive, George O’Grady, claimed he would bet his house on a Rory McIlroy victory at the DP World Tour Championship. Anti-gambling rules notwithstanding, of course.
It was to Henrik Stenson, and for a second year in succession, that O’Grady handed over the winner’s trophy on Sunday afternoon. Stenson’s placing as the No2 golfer in the world, behind McIlroy, should now be confirmed. It was therefore fitting that the Tour’s season ended with this pair in direct combat; McIlroy could not be denied the order of merit crown for a second time in three years but Stenson’s capabilities on the Earth Course were proven once more.
McIlroy’s grandstand finish here was not of the sort he wanted. A cut, or in his own words “terrible”, three-iron from the middle of the 18th fairway cannoned off the building housing spectators by the green, leaving a horrible chip shot from which the 25-year-old could not make birdie. Consolation arrived by virtue of Stenson winning by two in any case. “Obviously, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t win the tournament,” McIlroy said. “But I think given how I’ve played the last few days, second place isn’t too bad.”
Yet Stenson did not defend his title the easy way. McIlroy, from a position of five shots adrift at one stage on day four, surged through the field to share the lead by the time he walked off the 18th green.
Stenson’s response was befitting a champion; birdies on the last two holes claimed the title at 16 under par from McIlroy, Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson.
“It would be a nice thing to have been ranked the world’s best player at some point,” Stenson said. “But if I got the opportunity to choose, I’ll go for a major over being ranked No1 in the world any day of the week.
“I’m going to try to prepare well for the majors and be in good shape for when they start next year.”
From this tournament alone in the past two years, Stenson has pocketed close to $5m (£3.2m). Stenson, who was swindled out of millions by the American fraudster Allen Stanford, has recovered, both personally and professionally, in terrific fashion. He battled back to win this, as well, after a horrible tee shot on the 11th flew out of bounds and triggered a double-bogey six.
“It was a push, slice, shank right into a building site,” Stenson said, in offering hope to amateur golfers everywhere. “Thankfully, by the end of the day it didn’t cost me the tournament. But at that point, it felt like it could do.It’s all about coming back after mistakes in this game, and I certainly did that.”
As he conceded, McIlroy was far from his best. Major victories aside, the Northern Irishman has cause to be pleased by his consistency, which has improved this year. “That is a really big positive,” he said. “In seasons gone by, a bad week for me would have been middle of the pack or if there was a cut, maybe battling to make it.
“I didn’t feel like I played great at all today, and still went around bogey-free and shot 68. It’s not too bad. So there are a lot of positives heading into 2015. Something I’m really pleased about this year is that consistency that I’ve shown in my golf. I haven’t finished outside the top 25, I have been contending for tournaments and that has been exciting.”
Shane Lowry’s fifth-place finish will hand him an invite to Augusta National next April. “I’m thrilled. I cannot wait,” said the likeableIrishman. McIlroy and Stenson have cause already to focus on precisely the same tournament.
