Fowler dodges McIlroy in UAE

Rickie Fowler will miss teeing off with his across-the-pond rival Rory McIlroy at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Champions this week.
Fowler – the defending champion – hopes to kick off 2017 with a positive result at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, but admittedly is a touch blue about friend and rival McIlroy missing out due to a rib injury.
"I love playing against him," the American told europeantour.com.
"We've had a lot of good battles and good times together. Hopefully he's not out long and able to get back and he's obviously playing well. He played well last week.
"Does that make me look at the tournament any differently? No. You know, it's one less top player in the world I'm going to have to beat but the field here is one of the best fields on the European Tour and still has a lot of the top players in the world, three of the Major champions from last year are here.
"It's not going to be any easier to win."
Fowler also revealed that his focus for 2017 is the majors. The world number 14 has top five finishes in each of them, but is yet to really be in contention 0n Sunday afternoon.
"The last couple of years, the majors have been kind of the number one point to look at, especially after 2015, having the good finishes there,"
"So the majors, for me, that's probably the number one goal. Winning is what I want to do, win tournaments around the world but the majors are number one."
Latest
-
News
Collin Morikawa keen to draw inspiration from family ties to Hawaii at Sony Open
Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for coronavirus.
-
News
R&A: ‘No plans’ for Open to head to Donald Trump-owned Turnberry in near future
Trump National in Bedminster was on Sunday stripped of next year’s US PGA Championship.
-
News
US PGA Championship moved from Donald Trump-owned course in New Jersey
Trump National in Bedminster had been set to host the event.
-
News
Justin Thomas : ‘I made a terrible, terrible judgement call’
Thomas admitted he was distracted by what happened on Saturday during his final round.
-
News
PGA Championship to be moved away from Donald Trump-owned course
It is the second time in six years the PGA has moved an event away from a course owned by Donald Trump.
-
News
‘It’s inexcusable’ – Justin Thomas apologises for homophobic slur in Hawaii
The world number three was heard using the derogatory word towards himself after missing a par putt.
-
News
Westwood, McDowell back petition to allow English golf courses to open
The duo have added their names to a petition that has passed 100 000 signatures.
-
News
Xander Schauffele pledges to ‘fake it until I make it’ after contracting Covid
Schauffele is one of 16 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champions who failed to win an official event last season.
-
News
After years with TaylorMade, Jon Rahm joins Callaway
Spaniard will have Callaway woods and irons in his bag at Sentry Tournament of Champions.
-
News
What to expect from the 2021 OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic
There are more prestigious events on the European Tour, but there’s no denying that the Dubai Desert Classic just has something about it.