Tuesday 26 January 2016 12:13, UK
Rob Lee looks back at an exciting start to the Desert Swing at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and reflects on an impressive victory for Rickie Fowler.
Having four of the world's top six players in Abu Dhabi started the Desert Swing off with a resounding bang, and if they continue to attract fields of that calibre, it will be one of the premier European Tour events of the season.
The three star draws, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, were grouped together for the opening two rounds, and it made for some compelling viewing. I was fairly certain the winner would come out of that group, but Rickie was perhaps the least likely of the marquee three-ball to end the week as champion.
It was yet another near-miss in Abu Dhabi for McIlroy, who just can't seem to get it done there. He's been runner-up four times and finished tied for third this year.
Jordan Spieth made his debut in the tournament and arrived on the back of shooting an incredible 30-under at Kapalua. He would not have been short on confidence, but he could not do better than fifth and was not quite at his best.
Spieth didn't hole anywhere near as many putts as we're used to seeing him make for fun, and Rory certainly left a few shots out there.
Rickie the real deal
But it was to be Fowler's week, edging out young Belgian Thomas Pieters to win by one, and that's his fourth victory in the last nine months. And don't forget, that run started at the Players Championship last May, in the week in which he and Ian Poulter were allegedly voted the most over-rated players on the PGA Tour.
Rickie is absolutely the real-deal, and has been for some time. In 2014 he made the top five in each of the four majors - that's a huge achievement. He couldn't quite get a win on the board until Sawgrass, which he closed out in the most phenomenal style.
"I'm sure Fowler will be in the picture and I think his best chance will be at The Open. He is arguably the most natural links player of the world's top 10."
He then accepted an invite to play in the Scottish Open in early July, when he further strengthened his confidence while displaying a natural prowess on a links course. And he wasn't done there, holding off Henrik Stenson to clinch the Deutsche Bank Championship - the second of the FedExCup Play-Off events.
After his win in Abu Dhabi, Fowler is now the world No 4 for good reason. The three men ahead of him in the world rankings - Spieth, Day and McIlroy - are better all-round players in my opinion, but Fowler is not far behind them.
There is an art to pulling something out of the bag when you really need it. On Sunday in Abu Dhabi, Fowler double-bogeyed the short seventh but got both shots back when he holed his bunker shot for eagle at the next hole.
And when McIlroy himself eagled the 18th to get within a shot of the lead, Fowler gave himself a buffer with a chip-in for birdie at 17. The elite players, when they're in the hunt, just seem to find something special when it matters. The great players have a knack of responding.
Rickie is very impressive on and off the course. His "golf speak" is always good, he's always looking forwards, and he takes it week-by-week. And when you've got the talent he has, great things will happen.
Open chance
It's so tough to predict who will shine in the majors, even with the likes of Spieth and McIlroy, but I'm sure Fowler will be in the picture and I think his best chance will be at The Open. He is arguably the most natural links player of the world's top 10, particularly when the weather turns nasty.
I was also pleased to see Henrik Stenson finish tied for third with McIlroy despite not being fully recovered from the knee operation he had in early December. It's a shame he has had to pull out of this week's Qatar Masters, but it's the right decision.
He can't risk overloading his knee, and he was also having foot problems due to over-compensating. Henrik loves playing in Doha and is a regular there, but they'll have to do without him this time.
He'll spend a week or so having some carefully-monitored rehab and hopefully he will be right in Dubai.
Spieth too slow
As for Spieth, his warning for slow play towards the end of the first round attracted plenty of attention. His "monitoring penalty" didn't really amount to anything, but well done to the European Tour for enforcing their new regulations.
They didn't back off from the world No 1, and that's the way it should be. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've won or where you're ranked - you're still one of the field. Spieth is not regarded as a constant offender, but taking 90 seconds over a putt is simply too long.
He argued that his group were not out of position and the group behind were not waiting, but that doesn't matter. Taking that long can affect your playing partners, and it's not good for television viewers either. The European Tour are fully aware of this and have taken action - good on them.
At the other end of the scale, Spieth won a race against time to get his third round complete in near-darkness on Saturday evening and we had the rare sight of six players on the same green.
If players have a plane to catch, or if they're trying to avoid a 5am wake-up call the next morning, it's amazing how quickly they can suddenly play - and they don't play any worse! I've seen players out of contention on a Sunday afternoon almost running between shots as they battle to make that one flight home.
Mickelson keeping it straight
Phil Mickelson returned to action at the CareerBuilder Challenge and his performance was quite brilliant. Phil has been away from competitive golf for three months and has been working hard on a swing change with his new coach Andrew Getson.
To be honest, the swing didn't look that different to me. But it's not about how it looks - it's how it feels. Phil, while not completely comfortable, told Tim Barter that he was not having to fight the clubface so much, and the results appeared very good.
He tied for third, and he drove it very well - I can't remember the last time I talked about how well Phil Mickelson was driving the ball. He'll be so excited about finding more fairways, and he's giving himself more birdie chances while eliminating the swashbuckling recovery shots from behind the trees.
Many suspected that, at 45, he was on the slide towards the Champions Tour. But if he drives it like he did last week that might not be the case. The big test for Phil is to repeat that this week at Torrey Pines, where being straight off the tee is a must.
He still likes to give it a rip, but he was smashing it at PGA West - and smashing it pretty straight most of the time. He remains one of the most exciting players in the world to watch, and if he can keep it on the short grass, there are more wins in him.
Season in full swing
It was certainly a great week of golf on both Tours, and you get the feeling that the golfing year is very much up and running. There's a "fallow" period once the FedExCup and Race to Dubai draw to a close, but once we get to the events in the Middle East and in California, it's "go time".
This part of the year signals the start of the build-up to the Masters, and it's an exciting time for golf. It's also interesting to see how the potential Ryder Cup players are faring, even at this time of year.
For the likes of Andy Sullivan and Thomas Pieters, and Justin Thomas and Tony Finau in America, you can't secure a place in the team at Hazeltine, but you can have a strong month and put yourself in a great position.
Pieters will be in Qatar along with fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Matt Fitzpatrick, Chris Wood and Bernd Wiesberger, and with Jason Day, Fowler and Mickelson in action at the Farmers Insurance Open, we're in for another enthralling week of golf on Sky Sports 4.
Rob's Sky Bet tips:
Qatar Masters - Branden Grace. He scored a brilliant win here last season, and his driver to four feet at the 16th in the final round was one of the most memorable shots of 2015. It tends to be a lot more blustery in Doha, which suits the South African more than most. Branden has finished no lower than eighth on the European Tour this season, so he's bang in form.
Farmers Insurance Open - Phil Mickelson. It would be easy to go for Rickie who is bang in form, however jet lag will be an issue with a 12 hour time change. I'm going to go for Phil the Thrill, who drove it as well as I've ever seen him last week.
