Rory McIlroy on awful Abu Dhabi conditions: "Only 17 more to go!"
Rory McIlroy saw the funny side of the dreadful conditions at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, which saw Ian Poulter decking a driver from 238 yards into a 30mph headwind.
Rory McIlroy and the rest of the DP World Tour were warned this was going to happen at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship.
The winds were predicted to get up and make scoring pretty much impossible. A prediction that sadly has come true.
McIlroy failed to take advantage of the good scoring conditions on day one of the first Rolex Series event of 2022.
And he was up against it early on day two when he had to scramble to save par on his first hole of the day.
ShotTracer informs us that McIlroy sent his first tee shot into the fairway bunker at the 378-yard par-4 first at Yas Links.
He managed to find the green and save a par with a tricky little putt as the wind blew an absolute gale.
More: Patrick Cantlay goes very low at American Express
More: Ian Poulter's caddie asks if he's been on the beers
Picture: DP World Tour
"Only 17 more to go" #ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/Izp72DUaBE
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 21, 2022
At least, McIlroy saw the funny side of it. He walks off the green, whistling a happy tune.
And then he chimes in: "Only 17 more to go!".
Too right, these conditions are awful.
McIlroy also went on adventure on his next hole, sending his tee shot out left and the next one in the same direction.
He then produced a little bit of McIlroy magic:
Some Rory magic from the rough
Birdie putt slips by, but a very eventful par at the second. #ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/wa1LO9PTmw— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 21, 2022
To put it into context just how tough the wind is, with gusts of up to 30mph, Ian Poulter hit a driver off the deck from 228 yards.
238 yards into 30mph winds.
Driver off the deck @IanJamesPoulter #ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/gboexw9ej3— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 21, 2022
Better them than us.
Still, who hit the best driver off the deck this week. Phil Mickelson or Ian Poulter?
More: Patrick Reed discusses his new PXG driver
More: Meet the 6ft 9ins bomber on the PGA Tour
More: PGA Tour pro hits consecutive shots backwards from the rocks
More: How Bryson DeChambeau describes his new driver
Next page: The reason why Tiger wears red on Sundays
Ben joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
