In the end it was England’s Paul Casey who won the thrilling neck-and-neck race for the Falcon Trophy in front of the Crown Prince of Abu Dubai and record crowds on the fourth and final day of the US$2 million Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
But at various times during the dramatic final round of the UAE capital’s biggest sporting event, the title looked like it could go to Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sweden’s Peter Hanson. Overnight leader and European Order of Merit winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland seemed in with a chance at the beginning of the day. Galloping up the leader board to make it a five horse race at the turn was Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin, and tied with him at 14 under par on the back nine was defending champion Chris DiMarco, of the USA.
Pity the engraver of the coveted falcon trophy – there was to be no early finish for him on a day that could have belonged to anyone, but was ultimately Casey’s.
Describing the final round as his “finest ever”, the Englishman shot 65 to end on a combined score of 271, 17 under on the par 72 Championship course. One shot behind, Jimenez and Hanson tied second place with scores of 68 in the final round (272 in total), 16 under par. Defending champion DiMarco was fourth, with Harrington finishing tied fifth with Retief Goosen and Lucquin.
“As far as professional rounds go, that was probably my finest final round,” said Casey. “I haven’t shot a round of golf like that in a final round since I’ve been a professional. Then again, I was being pushed all the way. Every birdie I made, I felt like, you know, Miguel and Padraig were right behind me. It always makes me nervous, especially as Jimenez is such a gritty player. He knows how to win golf events.”
For Casey, who was voted European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2006, it was an eighth European Tour title, but he didn’t get the tournament off to the best start, ending the first round on 71, just one under par.
“The first round was fairly slow. It was a tough day but one under isn’t really great golf,” he said. “I’m ecstatic to get better every single day and to finish it off with a 65.”
Casey was full of praise for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. “Last year’s event was fantastic. It was a quality field, a great golf course, the usual requirements you need for putting on a first-class event. But this year it’s just so much better. This year, it’s really polished,” he said.
“You know, coming down 18, you just look at the scene with the corporate boxes on the left, the grandstands, the scoreboards… the branding was right. I hope it looked as good on TV as it looked standing in the middle of the fairway, because this is what it’s all about. This is a world-class event, and I think everyone involved should be very proud with what they put on this week.”
The new Abu Dhabi champion, ranked 14 in the world going into the Championship, gets 44 world ranking points for the win, which was watched on the 18th hole by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council.
Casey also picks up a cheque for US$333,330 and the Falcon Trophy, which was presented by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Head of the Crown Prince’s Court, Abu Dhabi.
Also attending the prize presentation after a glorious afternoon of world-class golf was HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the owner of the Championship. ADTA reported record attendance of 17,791 spectators in the first three days of the four-day event, more than last year’s total for the entire tournament and a 35 per cent increase on the same period in 2006.
Sheikh Sultan paid tribute to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed for his support. “The second Abu Dhabi Golf Championship has built on the undoubted success of the inaugural event and we are delighted with the increased level of interest and media coverage it has attracted here in the UAE and around the world,” he said.
“We at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority remain committed to growing the Championship in future years to further showcase the tournament and Abu Dhabi internationally.”
In the presentation ceremony other prizes went to England’s Phillip Archer, who was Omega Low Round Winner with a score of 63 in the first round; Jimenez, who won the Etihad Airways’ Birdie Prize; and Julien Guerrier of France, who was Leading Amateur with a tied 36 finish.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the players, the sponsors, the European Tour, the local and international media, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, our volunteers and everyone who has contributed to the undoubted success of this year’s Championship, not forgetting you, the spectators, who have supported these fine players over the four days,” Sheikh Sultan told the crowd.
Also attending the presentation at the finale of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007 were His Excellency Khaldoun Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Affairs Authority; His Excellency Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, ADTA; and Ahmed Hussein, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship Organising Committee.
Representing the sponsors of the event were James Hogan, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways; Ahmed Al Sayedh, Chairman of Aldar; Mervyn Davis, Non Executive Chairman, Standard Chartered PLC; Arild Sjoedin, Manager of the Emirates Palace Hotel; Ahmed Bin Ali, Vice President Corporate Communications, Etisalat; Franck Michaud, Contracts Engineering Director, Airbus; His Excellency Abdulla Al Masaood, Chairman of Al Masaood; Melvin George, Regional Manager, Omega; Terry Holland, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce; and Belal El Banna, Marketing Manager, Xerox.
MC for the ceremony was Miguel Vidaor, of the European Tour.
