Rory McIlroy clinched his third Hero Dubai Desert Classic title after rolling in a nerve-jangling downhill putt for birdie at the last to beat arch nemesis and LIV Golf rebel Patrick Reed by one shot at Emirates Golf Club. The Northern Irishman closed out a 4 under par 68 to finish 19 under par for the tournament as he secured the first Rolex Series win of his career after the event’s elevation in status last year.
“It means a lot. It’s actually funny, Harry my caddie said to me, ‘finally we get a gold bib’,” said McIlroy in reference to the fact that caddies of Rolex Series winners wear gold bibs in Rolex Series events. “Obviously I haven’t won one of these big ones before. It was a battle all day. Honestly, it’s been a battle all week”.
Wet start
After the tournament suffered the misfortune of torrential downpours for the first two days, you couldn’t have written a more gripping, dramatic finale. The week had begun with ‘teegate’ where McIlroy was accused of ignoring Reed on the driving range, prompting the American to throw a tee at him. Reed, it transpired, had McIlroy served with a subpoena on Christmas Eve. It’s fair to say that these two aren’t exactly the best of pals. Fast forward to Monday afternoon of the rain delayed tournament and the golfing gods gave the people what they wanted – a straight shootout between the two foes. As entertainment goes, this was pure box office.
Reed on fire
Reed started the day four shots back in a share of fourth place, but he quickly made gains on the second, third and sixth to move to within one of McIlroy, who began his round steadily but not spectacularly, waiting until the ninth hole to pick his first shot of the day. Reed then eagled the 10th to draw level before McIlroy responded with a birdie to restore his advantage. The pair traded blows down the back nine like a couple of prize fighters, each refusing to let the other pull away. It all came down to the Majlis’ iconic closing hole – where McIlroy had blown his chances of victory last year after putting his approach shot in the water.
Reed, one stroke behind and knowing he had to go for it, played a sublime approach from over 235 years back with a hybrid to set up an eagle putt which he was to miss leaving him to tap in for birdie and pile the pressure on McIlroy.
Sensible Option
The 33 year old overcooked his tee shot and was fortunate that the thick stuff held his ball up and prevented it rolling into the water. He opted for the sensible approach of a layup from there to leave himself a wedge into the green which he struck to within 15 feet. With a very tricky downhill putt left for birdie, the popcorn was being prepared for playoff golfing dreams are made of. But McIlroy did the business when it matter most and calmly stroked the putt home for a victory that was surely as sweet as they come.
“I really feel like I haven’t had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart,” said McIlroy after claiming his 15th DP World Tour title. “Even that second shot at the last there, you know, I was in two minds. I probably could have got to the green but seeing what happened yesterday and what happened last year, giving myself a wedge to try to get up-and-down to try to get the win. Just ecstatic that I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and as I said I managed my game well. I definitely feel like there’s tons of room for improvement but it’s a great start to the year.
“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I’ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself. Forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really, really well.
“I feel like I showed a lot of mental strength out there today and it’s something to really build on for the rest of the year.”
Frenchman Lucas Herbert finished two shots back from Reed on 16 under while England’s Callum Shinkwin was fourth at 15 under.
