WATCH: Rory McIlroy takes impressive shot at the 2024 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Rory McIlroy is at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this weekend. The golfer is breaking a streak of a few weeks off from competitive tournament golf and has returned to action with a bang. He put together an impressive shot on the ninth hole as part of a dominant opening to the weekend.
McIlroy took out his three-wood and calmly blasted the shot over the water. It was an impressive shot, but what stood out was the ball speed. His shot traveled 181 miles per hour, one of the fastest shots with that club in recent memory.
The golfer's shot easily cleared the water and rolled into the fairway, making the par-four a lot easier to navigate for the next three strokes. McIlroy was already eight under par through eight holes in the second round, and the shot on this hole had the Irishman well on his way to getting another stroke shaved off.
McIlroy went on to finish 10 under par for the two rounds. He was five under on Friday and trails by nine strokes. The Irishman is tied for 14th, with players like Thorbjorn Oleson, Tommy Fleetwood, Ugo Cousseau, Tyrrell Hatton and Laurie Canter ahead of him going into the third round tomorrow.
There is no cut since only 70 golfers are in the field, but either way, McIlroy would be well within the range to continue playing the third and fourth rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
Rory McIlroy envisions lighter load in 2025
Rory McIlroy just took three weeks off to reset himself. He has returned in good form to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Before the first round, he acknowledged that playing 27 tournaments so far had been a lot for him to manage.
Now, according to the Telegraph, he's stating that he might not play that many next season and beyond that:
“There’s a few tournaments that I played this year that I don’t usually play and that I might not play next year. Like, I played the Cognizant [Classic] in Palm Beach Gardens, [the Texas Open in] San Antonio and the [RBC Heritage in] Hilton Head. And I’ll probably not play the first play-off event in Memphis. I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year [tied for 68 in a 70-man field], and only moved down one spot in the play-off standings.”
McIlroy said he is 35 and has had 18 years under his belt. At this point, Rory McIlroy wants to go play in "places that he enjoys and plays well." He said the "hard slog" of 25 to 30 events a year isn't on the cards anymore since he's "not getting any younger."