Falcon Trophy hunt comes to the boil in Abu Dhabi

An afternoon of pulsating drama on a sun-drenched National Course ensured the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship will be decided in a ‘Super Sunday’ showdown today at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Overnight leader Justin Rose – now only 18 holes from securing a memorable wire-to-wire win on his Abu Dhabi debut – remains top of the leaderboard for the third day running.
After a morning of low scoring, Rose carded a cool, calm and collected round of 68 – his third consecutive sub-70 score – to enter the clubhouse at 12-under par, two shots ahead of Dane Thorbjørn Olesen and Welshman Jamie Donaldson at 10-under.

The Englishman’s lead, however, could have been wider. With six holes to play Rose was four strokes clear of the chasing pack, before bogeys on holes 13 and 17 – coupled with Donaldson and Olesen both holing birdie putts on 18 – slashed his lead to a single stroke. With the pressure building, Rose birdied 18 to restore a two shot cushion for the final round.
“I was a little bit mad about the bogey at 17,” said Rose. “But all week, I’ve been very resilient and bounced back well. Great swings and a chip and a putt at the last, restored the order of the day I suppose, which makes me feel good. Every time I had the club in hand I felt like I was going to hit a good shot. Some days you have to work harder than others but today was a day where it felt pretty smooth.”
With thousands of fans flanking fairways throughout the day, serene conditions catalysed a plethora of low scores. India’s SSP Chowrasia, playing in the second pairing out on course, made light of his world number 452 ranking to post the Championship’s best round of the week – a scintillating, bogey-free 65. With a quartet of players – Thongchai Jaidee, Ricardo Santos, Bernd Weisberger and Peter Hanson – all carding six-under rounds of 66, Australia’s Andrew Dodt was the only man to equal Chowrasia’s superlative effort.

Jaidee’s late surge propelled him to fourth, one shot ahead of a three-way tie for fifth featuring Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, England’s David Howell and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño. “It’s lovely to feel like you’re right in the mix because this is the first really big tournament of the year,” said Howell.
The congested leaderboard sees Dodt, Santos and Michael Campbell tied-eighth at seven-under. Triple Abu Dhabi champion Martin Kaymer and South Africa’s Jbe Kruger are one shot further back at six-under.
With the emirate’s golf fans taking advantage of a tournament promotion granting free entry to anyone wearing Championship colours, the National Course was a sea of red. With grandstands and sponsor areas packed out all over the course, officials from Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), the Championship organiser, are predicting a showdown to remember when play resumes.

“Justin is playing very consistently but there is a hungry pack right behind him. These guys will not rest until the final putt is sunk,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, TCA Abu Dhabi’s Events Manager. “Another dramatic tussle for the Falcon trophy is shaping up and the final day is likely to throw up a few surprises. Abu Dhabi cannot wait to crown a deserving winner tomorrow.”