Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship Special Report Friday

Today's Headlines:

• Woods misses cut in dramatic fashion following 2-shot penalty

• World Number One Rory McIlroy also misses weekend after poor display in the desert; unhappy with driving and putting

• WORLD EXCLUSIVE You read it here first – McIlroy uses Scotty Cameron on second day in Abu Dhabi

• World Number Five Justin Rose leads the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship

Rory McIlroy slumped to a missed cut in his first tournament of 2013 just days after being revealed as a Nike Athlete on Monday night. I exclusively revealed on Tuesday that McIlroy had the option to use his Scotty Cameron Putter and on Friday he indeed did use his trusty stick, although with very little success.

This is the WORLD EXCLUSIVE news I broke on Tuesday

WORLD EXCLUSIVE

During the press conference Rory was asked whether he had the option to use his Scotty Cameron Putter at all. For the majority of Tiger Woods' time with Nike he continued to use the Scotty Cameron and only since the 2010 Open has he used the Nike putter, and the questioner was suggesting a possible similar scenario for Rory. He said that he was really happy with the way the ball was rolling off the club-face and was going to use the Nike Method putter, but it was an answer shrouded in uncertainty, he didn't seem convincing in his delivery.  And, I can exclusively reveal that the option is on the table. Sources tell me that Rory has 3 months and 6 months respectively where he can return to using the Scotty Cameron Putter and the Titleist Ball. It seems that the Number One ball in golf and the Number One player in golf could, just maybe, still have a future together.  This sort of thing happens regularly as players try to adapt to a new putter, with the putter and the ball being a very particular piece of equipment for a top professional it is certainly not uncommon for players to outwardly promote a product whilst using one that they are more comfortable with. McIlroy has used the Titleist putters and balls for his entire career including amateur competition, so despite practising with the Nike 20XI X it would be of no surprise to anyone if the World Number One used the Titleist ball again, especially if things don't go as planned over the next few events. I can also reveal that the spectacular advert launched by Nike featuring Rory and Tiger took place with the wonders of modern technology, as both filmed the ad at separate times to each other.The combination of the underlying contract issues and the fact that the ad is digitally enhanced makes it all seem something its not quite as rosy as it seems on the outside, but these things do tend to go on with every new deal between a company and a major star.

But back to the golf from day two in the Middle East and I awoke to scenes out of a Christmas card today, with deep snow blanketing the country here it makes watching the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship even more pleasurable even if it's just for the sunshine. It certainly wasn't for watching Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. The 2013 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was hyped around the Woods-McIlroy rivalry but unfortunately the only things they were contending for over these first two days was a place in the field over the weekend. Before I go on to write the remainder of this blog I will not be blaming new equipment for the performance of the World Number One, many other players in the field have changed equipment over the winter. McIlroy missed the cut by three shots and as usual was humble, open and honest about where it all went wrong.

Rory admitted that he didn't drive the ball well at all and was struggling all week with his swing, hitting the ball out of the heel and said that he needed more work on the range. The Ulsterman claimed that it was “more the Indian than the arrow” as a reason for his failure to make the cut after two rounds of 75, but he also said he needed to find a driver that he was more comfortable with. The fact that he must have been bitterly disappointed with his performance did not stop him from speaking to the waiting media in a gracious manner and it allows the unique appeal of Rory McIlroy to grow, despite his well below-par performance he will continue to make friends across the world. 

While McIlroy's demise was unexpected and very disappointing it could not compare to the incredible dramatic and shocking manner Tiger Woods exited the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Having finished his round and posted rounds of 72 and 73 he was set to play the weekend, at just nine behind the leader it seemed that he was back in contention if he could shoot a good score on Saturday. The Sky Sports coverage went to an ad break and returned, as usual, to David Livingstone, he started by saying “let's quickly go live to Tim Barter, who has Tiger Woods with him”, for what I thought was an interview with him to reflect on his battling display and thoughts on making the cut. Astonishingly he started by saying what had happened and then preceded to ask him for more details. European Tour referee Andy McFee had notified Woods that he had taken a drop for his ball being embedded in a sandy area, and this had broken the rules and as such carried a two stroke penalty, this meant that Tiger had posted a 75 and was 3-over-par for 36 holes, above the cut line of 2-over-par.

Andy McFee explains decision

The incident happened on the fifth hole where his ball went into an area of foliage which was in a sandy area, he sought advice from playing partner Martin Kaymer and then dropped the ball and played out into the fairway. He went on to make a bogey five. But on review the tour officials decided that this was not in accordance with the rules and the score was changed to a triple-bogey seven and Woods was informed after the round. 

"I called Martin over to verify the ball was embedded. We both agreed, but evidently it was sand," he explained. "It's tough. I didn't get off to a very good start and I fought hard. I battled back and got it to where I thought I could play the weekend, and thought I might have a chance, just post two low rounds. But I won’t be able to do that.”

Yet another example of players respecting the rules and the spirit of the rules of golf, and this is just one example of golf, its values and the spirit of sportsmanship within the game. Martin Kaymer attempted to honestly assist Tiger with the issue on the course, but unfortunately the pair reached the incorrect decision and instead of protesting aggressively about his misfortune Tiger accepted the decision with dignity. I will be covering this subject in a Blog next week (see at the bottom of the page for future blogs).

With 2 or the 3 headline golfers gone the role as lead act in Abu Dhabi fell to Justin Rose, and so far he has taken the chance to shine. The WGC-Cadillac Champion holds a one stroke lead as he goes for his first title in the middle east and first win of what he hopes will be another great year. The Englishman added a round of 69 to his opening 67 to play the first two rounds at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club to lead at 8-under-par, one stroke ahead of Jamie Donaldson, Thorbjorn Olesen and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Martin Kaymer was the only one of the big three players in the McIlroy-Woods group and he sits four shots back in his attempt to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship for a fourth time. Five shots cover the leading 23 players going into the weekend, and with Rose leading and Kaymer in contention we are still looking at several world-class players competing for the first event on the 2013 Middle East Swing.

It is of course deeply disappointing for everyone involved that the world's top two golfers have missed the cut, but it shows just how strong the game is and how many top golfers there are in the game, and in this tournament. They have both given great value to the organisers and McIlroy's presence has brought true global attention to the tournament and the destination with the Nike announcement on Monday. The weekend is for the some of the best of the rest to battle it out for the title in a championship that has arrived at the top table of golf events.

UPCOMING BLOGS to be published by HooperstarGolfer SATURDAY - ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT SATURDAY SUNDAY - ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT SUNDAY MONDAY - QATAR MASTERS AND FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN PREVIEW TUESDAY - GOLFERS SHINE LIKE A BEACON FOR SPORTSMANSHIP MONDAY 28 JANUARY - DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC AND PHOENIX OPEN PREVIEW SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY - MIDDLE EAST SWING REVIEW MONDAY 4 FEBRUARY - PEBBLE BEACH AND WHY PRO-AMS ON THE TOUR SCHEDULE ARE OUTDATED MONDAY 11 FEBRUARY - LOS ANGELES OPEN PREVIEW AND HOW INDIAN GOLF IS TRYING TO EMERGE FROM THE SHADOW OF CRICKET MONDAY 18 FEBRUARY - WGC MEANS WHO'S GONNA CARE? WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY 1ST ROUND SPECIAL REPORT THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY 2ND ROUND SPECIAL REPORT FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY 3RD ROUND SPECIAL REPORT SATURDAY 23 FEBRUARY - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY QUARTER-FINALS SPECIAL REPORT SUNDAY 24 FEBRUARY - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS/FINAL SPECIAL REPORT MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY - FLORIDA SWING PREVIEW WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH – WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 7 MARCH – WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT THURSDAY FRIDAY 8 MARCH – WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT FRIDAY SATURDAY 9 MARCH – WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT SATURDAY SUNDAY 10 MARCH – WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL REPORT SUNDAY WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH – FUTURE OF THE FLORIDA SWING – MOVE THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP BACK TO MARCH MONDAY 18 MARCH – THE BIG THREE MONDAY 25 MARCH - AS SUPER-RICH PRO'S TEE-IT-UP FOR TAVISTOCK CUP COULD GOLF HAVE A TEAM LEAGUE FOR WORLD FAMOUS CLUBS?