Rickie Fowler holds off Rory McIlroy to win Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

When the calendar flipped to 2016, a trendy talking point in golf was that everyone needed to pump the brakes on hailing the ascendance of all this young talent because it was going to be impossible to top 2015’s dream post-Tiger run. The year is only three weeks old and Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler posted wins against big boy fields in two of those three weeks. Maybe this thing will just keep going all year, all decade even!

Fowler finished a Sunday sprint at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship one shot clear of Thomas Pieters and with Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson all not far behind. With all four of those heavy hitters posting top-five results, the event certainly got its appearance fees’ worth.

Rickie’s third-round 65 was the big move of the week and pushed him above that loaded top of the leaderboard. On Sunday, McIlroy was up ahead trying to make his final desperate move, playing the closing three holes in 3-under, including a chip-in and eagle at the last.

Fowler was having none of it. A fairway bunker shot early in his round at the eighth signaled that this was probably his day.

After Rory’s late surge, Rickie would add another hole-out, this one from just off the 17th green that would be the difference and keep him clear of Pieters.

Between Rickie’s hole-outs, Rory’s chip-in and eagle, and three straight birdies on the back nine by Spieth, this was a pretty manic finish in the desert. It would have been a classic had it been a major or, you know, not the crack of dawn back in the States.

The win will move Rickie to No. 4 in the world, meaning the “big four” are now the “top four.” Jason Day was the only one absent from one of the Euro Tour’s marquee events this week, but he’ll be joining the battle soon.

Fowler does not have a major (yet), so there will continue to be a debate over whether there’s a “big three” or a “big four.” That’s concurrent with the Spieth vs. Rory debate that will, no doubt, rage all year. It’s still January and the whole back and forth has already taken on an “Is Joe Flacco elite?” feel for me. All four players are good and all four are going to keep winning. One will probably have a better season than the others, but that may mean nothing for separation over the longer term. I’m just going to keep enjoying this incredible run the sport is on and hope it never stops.