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If Rory McILroy wants to imitate the story of Ernie Els and Sir Nick Faldo, he will have to repeat his own story here at the Desert Classic.
Halfway through this event last year, McILroy was 10 strokes of the rhythm and took over; This time, he is “only” nine years. If the world number 3 can produce an equally breathtaking weekend charge, he would then become the first player to win the same regular event of the DP World Tour three times in a row from Els at the Heineken Classic.
Before the Big Easy, Colin Montgomerie produced the “Threepeat” – as the Americans like to call it – at the BMW PGA Championship, while in 1993 Faldo succeeded in Irish Open.
Ian Woosnam is the only other hero to have successfully successfully hoarse – the Welshman being on his momentum at the Open de Monte Carlo – which makes it a fairly limited list to join. Of course, McILroy is more than worthy of the company and on a plot of the Majlis where he has already won four times, he knows that he is quite capable. If he can putter, of course.
“I would say that the winner’s score will not be much higher than that of the current leader, especially given the way the course will take place this weekend,” he said after a 71 in the second round which brought it to three sous. “The greens will continue to become a little firmer and it will be very important to place them in the fairway and to touch many greens. If I can focus on it during the weekend, succeed in a few putts, I think I still have a good luck.
While Jon Rahm missed the cut – the Spaniard pulled a 77 with two double bogeys – and that Viktor Hovland, unfortunately in bad shape, also made a premature outing, McILroy will delight the sponsors if he can, to all Less, put your big name in the ranking. But there are 32 players in front of the 35 -year -old player and with Tyrrell Hatton tied thirdly with eight sous after a 65, McILroy has a lot of quality to get around.
And the leader is not a face. The Scottish Ewen Ferguson has won three times in the past three years and it is fair to say that the 28 -year -old confident is no stranger to the Emirates Golf Club.
Ferguson lives in Dubai – in fact, his apartment overlooks the course – and the crowd welcomed his fortuitous strike on the 18th by five with a huge roar. The second shooting of the world’s number 141 was far too long, but he touched the gallery and rebounded less than five feet from the spit to prepare the most unlikely eagles for a total of 65 and 12 sous. Local knowledge, indeed.
