SUNDAY JANUARY 19, 2014 – ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
• His third European Tour International Schedule victory in his 188th European Tour event.
• Moves to €328,779 in The Race to Dubai.
• Would move to inside the top 55 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 103rd.
• His first European Tour victory since the 2011 BMW International Open. This is a gap of two years and 207 days.
• Since his 2011 victory played in 77 European Tour events between victories.
• This victory beats his previous best performances since his 2011 BMW International Open win of tied second in the 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, 2012 Open de España and 2012 KLM Open.
• The first Spanish player to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
• The sixth different player to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship since the event began in 2006.
• Victory comes in his sixth appearance in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
• This victory beats his previous best performance in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship of tied 11th in 2011.
• Began the day three shots behind. This equals the largest final round winning comeback in the history of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, matching the three shots of Paul Casey in 2007.
• His three shot final round winning comeback equals the largest of the 2014 season. The two others to win from three behind were: Thomas Björn (Nedbank Golf Challenge) and Dawie Van der Walt (Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa).
OTHER FACTS
• The fifth consecutive European Tour winner to make up a final round deficit to win on the 2014 European Tour season. Is also the sixth from the seven tournaments so far this season. (Only Charl Schwartzel has won this season after leading after 54 holes).
• The second of his three European Tour victories where he has made up a final round deficit to win. Came from two behind to win the 2011 BMW International Open.
• The second Spanish winner of the 2014 European Tour season, following Miguel Angel Jiménez (Hong Kong Open).
• Spain becomes the fifth different country to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, following, United States, England, Germany and Wales.
• Becomes the sixth different Spanish player to win a European Tour event in the Middle East. He follows: Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, Alvaro Quiros, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
• To highlight his consistency since his last victory in 2011, he had amassed 16 top ten finishes from his 77 events played.
• The 169th Spanish victory in European Tour history.
• Gains a European Tour exemption until the end of 2016.
• Gains a place in the 2014 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, 2014 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2015 Volvo Golf Champions.
• Gains his fourth win as a professional.
• Becomes the fourth European Tour win of the 2014 season by a former Challenge Tour player. They are: Morten Ørum Madsen (South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni), Thomas Björn (Nedbank Golf Challenge), Louis Oosthuizen (Volvo Golf Champions) and Pablo Larrazábal (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship).
• Becomes the 332nd European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player.
