REVIEW
Final round of one over par 73 sees Padraig finish at three over par for the tournament. He recorded three birdies but two dropped shots and another double bogie on the tough par four ninth hole did the damage. He stays on for the desrt swing with the next event being the Dubal desert classic next week.
A third round of three over par 75 was the result of a poor finish. Starting on the back nine, he was out in level par after swapping a birdie on the par five 10th with a bogie on the par four 17th. He followed that with six straight pars before three dropped shots including a double bogie on his last hole.
A delayed second round due to fading light meant Padraig had to come back Saturday morning to complete his second round. He had opened up with twelve straight pars when play was halted and came back out Saturday to a double bogie six on the par four 13th hole. This left him one shot outside the cut but to his credit he parred the next four holes before a birdie on the last saw him in for the weekend. He tees off in the third round at 12.24pm from the 10th tee.
Padraig gets off to a solid start in Abu Dhabi with a two under par round of 70. Starting on the back nine, he parred his first six holes before picking up two nice birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to be out in two under. He stumbled at the start of his front nine with two early dropped shots but finished strongly with birdies on the 5th and 6th holes to sign for his 70. He is just outside the top thirty with eight under par leading. He tees off late Friday at 12.25pm.
Padraig starts a very important year in Abu Dhabi at the HSBC Championship. It is of course a Ryder Cup year and he plays in the first two rounds with two potential candidates for Wisconsin in September. He will also be anxious to get his year off to a good start and will play the next few weeks on the European Tour on the desert swing. The course is a par 72 playing to 7642 yards but scoring is normally very good with 19 under par winning in 2020. Its a very strong field with the likes of Rory McIlroy playing but there are many players looking to get their Ryder Cup campaigns off to a flying start. Lee Westwood is your defending champion and after winning a few weeks ago he will be gunning for a Ryder Cup spot at the age of ripe old age of 48 come September!
Tee Times – Padraig tees off at 8am on Thursday and 12.25pm on Friday with Ryder Cup hopefuls, Robert MacIntyre and Victor Perez.