Golf

Larrazábal feat could inspire a Lowry rise

Spaniard’s season transformed by long-awaited victory in Abu Dhabi

Pablo Larrazábal plays his second shot to the par five 18th hole on his way to victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which has transformed the popular Spaniard’s season. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Philip Reid's face
Philip Reid
Tue Jan 21 2014 - 01:00

As the European Tour’s

Gulf Swing moves on from Abu Dhabi to Qatar for a tournament which starts tomorrow due to a public holiday in the cash-rich sovereign state, the upwardly mobile graph of Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal could inspire a number of his touring peers, among them Shane Lowry.

In one fell swoop, Larrazábal's win has transformed his season in moving him from 103rd in the world to 53rd, which should get him into next month's WGC-Accenture Matchplay field in the Arizonan desert.

Impetus
It is exactly the impetus that Lowry craves, as he heads to the Commercialbank Qatar Masters ranked 85th in the world. Lowry requires a good fortnight in the desert, moving on from Qatar to Dubai next week, if he is to take a leaf out of Larrazábal's book.

Lowry is part of a strong Irish contingent in Qatar which includes Darren Clarke – who becomes the fourth Irishman to play 500 events on the PGA European Tour – Simon Thornton, Peter Lawrie, Paul McGinley, Damien McGrane, Michael Hoey and Gareth Maybin. The event carries a first prize of €305,232.

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As if to underline the power of Qatar's seemingly insatiable love affair with sport, no fewer than ten of the world's top-50 players have been drawn to this second leg of the Gulf Swing.

Bounce back
Henrik Stenson, the world number three and winner of this tournament in 2006, is seeking to bounce back from a missed cut in Abu Dhabi and heads a field that also features Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer and current US PGA champion Jason Dufner.

Thomas Bjorn, who tops the European Tour order of merit at this early stage of the season, will also be looking to extend his good form.

Larrazábal’s win in Abu Dhabi has changed his season. The Spaniard, a popular player on tour, will seek to claim back-to-back wins on tour in Qatar and moves on to Dubai but has dropped the following two events in South Africa as he heads stateside instead to play in the Accenture.