Rory McIlroy has refused to be downbeat about his performance after finishing second behind Gary Stal at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Martin Kaymer's final-round disappointment allowed Stal to claim his first professional victory, and McIlroy elected to remain positive despite being just one shot behind the champion for the third time at the event.

"If you just sort of plug away and stay patient, your time will come. But it was just a little too late for me today unfortunately. My only bogey was a three-putt, but tee to green, I can't fault that," the world number one told Sky Sports News.

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball very, very well. I didn't putt as well as I'd have liked this week, but all parts of my game feel pretty good.

"I feel it's been great because there are a couple of things to work on and hopefully that will make me perform in Dubai in a couple of weeks' time."

McIlroy had rested for four weeks before arriving in Abu Dhabi to come agonisingly close to claiming victory.