Rory McIlroy Can Finally Add The Missing Piece To His Extraordinary Abu Dhabi Record This Week

At the end of a year which has arguably panned out better than Rory McIlroy could have ever possibly dreamed, the five-time Major winner has a couple more tasks to tick off on his to-do list.

Perhaps the most important would be to win a seventh Race To Dubai crown and pull within one of Colin Montgomerie in terms of the most all-time titles.

But, before that, the 36-year-old will be desperate to scratch an itch which has continued to evade his reach since he turned professional.

Despite 11 appearances at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship throughout his career, McIlroy has never won it. He has come close, though. Nearly every time, in fact.

In those 11 starts, McIlroy has finished runner-up on four separate occasions and third - either on his own or in a share - five different times.

The former World No.1 lost out by a single stroke in 2012, 2014 and 2015 as Robert Rock, Pablo Larrazabal and Gary Stal each took the spoils.

Stal's victory in 2015 was arguably the biggest shock for McIlroy and co as the Frenchman roared from eight strokes behind 54-hole leader Martin Kaymer to stun a cluster of current or future Ryder Cup stars at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

McIlroy himself had carded a six-under round of 66 on Sunday - a score which, ordinarily, would have been more than enough to cross the line in front after Kaymer's horrible 75. However, Stal banged in a seven-under 65 to claim the biggest prize of his career.

While McIlroy did not win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2015, it was at that same tournament the Northern Irishman achieved his first-ever competitive hole-in-one.

Surprisingly, the total number of McIlroy's career aces is quite low, but his maiden effort arrived on the 15th hole during round two. Taking a 9-iron on the 177-yard hole, McIlroy's tee shot pitched just short and left of the pin before taking an awkward bounce forward and to the right and rolling neatly into the cup.

Rory McIlroy's Hole in One in Abu Dhabi - YouTube

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Although that highlight gave McIlroy a fighting chance of success, it did not turn out to be enough for a maiden victory in Abu Dhabi.

Since then, the closest McIlroy has come to finally reigning supreme in that part of the UAE has been two shots (2016) with a number of runaway winners ensuring third-place finishes by some distance.

Sprinkled in among the 11 second or third-places was a missed cut in 2013 and a T12th in 2022. McIlroy failed to play the weekend as a 23-year-old after consecutive rounds of 75 while he ended five strokes off the pace more recently - in part thanks to another 75 in round two.

What makes McIlroy's Abu Dhabi curse even more curious is his sterling record in the neighboring Emirate of Dubai.

McIlroy has played in 25 different events in Dubai, winning six times and recording top-10s in 16 others. On the other three occasions, the Northern Irishman finished T11th (2011 Dubai World Championship), T20th (2018 DP World Tour Championship) and T22nd (2023 DP World Tour Championship).

Whether McIlroy can finally win in Abu Dhabi this year remains to be seen. But with a fifth Major finally tucked away on top of an away Ryder Cup victory with Team Europe, very few people are betting against McIlroy to wrap up his dream year in style.

RORY MCILROY ABU DHABI RESULTS