Spaniard Alvaro Quiros (Oakley) wins the Dubai World Championship
In the first days of December it all still looked as if Oakley’s golf prodigy Rory McIlroy could rise to be the European number one.
After winning the UBS Hong Kong Open, only one man, Englishman Luke Donald, stood between Rory McIlroy and the lead of the European Tour.
Since his amazing win at the U.S. Open in June, the 22-year-old Oakley athlete had not finished worse than third, so taking the crown was entirely possible:
In order to outrank Luke Donald, Rory needed to win the Dubai World Championship and the World’s number one, Donald, would have to finish 10th or worse. A tall order, but within the realm of possibility. The final game promised to be a thrilling battle between the two opponents, and nerves of steel were to be required.
Thus at the Dubai World Championship, before the first ball was hit, all eyes were on the contestants McIlroy and Donald – but Spaniard Alvaro Quiros had other plans:
After leading the field throughout the game, the hard-hitting Quiros holed a 40-foot (12m) eagle putt on the 18th to clinch a two-shot win of the World Championship.
For Oakley athlete Quiros this was the second title in the 2011 European tour season, having won the Omega Dubai Desert previously.
Luke Donald ended up third in Dubai, and wrote history by becoming the first golfer to win the money lists on both sides of the ocean.
Rory McIlroy had to concede when his batteries ran low, suffering from a mild case of Dengue fever. He appeared exhausted already before the game, admitting that he was not feeling 100%, and in the end he landed on 11th place.
But Rory took it with grace and complimented his rival: “Luke has had an incredible year and I hope he now gets the recognition he deserves,” McIlroy told the Daily Mirror. "From within the golfing family he’ll receive a lot of applause for what he’s done this year.”
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