The Dubai Desert Classic had always seemed destined to be a straight duel between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed from the moment Reed flicked a LIV Golf tee at his rival on the practice range.
And so it proved, the pair going stroke for stroke for a victory that also felt like a battle for the future of the sport.
In one corner, McIlroy represented the established order for the DP World (formerly European) Tour, in the other Reed the new upstarts at LIV. Both men had been arguably the most outspoken for their respective tours.
The backdrop to it all began with a subpoena delivered to McIlroy’s door on Christmas Eve by Reed’s lawyer. McIlroy took umbrage, refused the offer of a handshake out in Dubai and Reed unleashed a tee, claiming it to be a joke but then calling his rival an “immature little child”.
The controversy did not end for Reed there, tee-gate becoming tree-gate in a row over a missing ball lodged in a tree during the course of his third round.
Refreshingly, both men let their golf do the talking on a final day, Reed going on a charge to cut the four-shot deficit to McIlroy and level for the lead, before then moving ahead.
World No1 McIlroy didn’t necessarily play his best golf on the day but his was a pragmatic approach down the back nine.
Using all his experience of 35 previous professional wins, he finally turned the tide when it mattered, making a birdie putt on the 17th to go one shot ahead with Reed in the group ahead on the 18th.
By that point, the Reed had stuttered for the first time in the round, dropping a shot on 16th and scrabbling to make par at the next hole. By that point, he knew McIlroy needed to make an error to give him a realistic shot at the win. It very nearly happened when the 33-year-old Northern Irishman came within a whisker of finding the water hazard off the tee.
A VERY narrow escape for Rory McIlroy 😅🤏 pic.twitter.com/mUV9QpMQoR
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 30, 2023
Only the tall grass kept the ball in play, and McIlroy did not take on the water with his second shot. He left himself a 15ft birdie putt for the win with his third, it dropped in and 2023 begins much as he ended a dominant 2022.
Both players have a history of captivating duels not just over the game’s future but competitively too from the Masters to the Ryder Cup.
And this latest match-up did not lack for intrigue in a tournament with a Monday finish because of the deluges last week.
Reed got off to a flyer with three birdies in his opening nine. An eagle at the ninth followed by two birdies at the next three holes saw him seven-under for the day and move into the lead for the first time on the 13th.
In contrast, McIlroy, who had been 11-under on the front nine in the previous three rounds this week, picked up just one shot at the last time of asking on the front nine.
Reed’s lead at 13 was shortlived as McIlroy managed his own birdie but a bogey two holes later, his first dropped shot of the round, meant advantage swung back to the American.
But then Reed hit a wayward tee shot at 16 leaving him behind the trees. From there, it was a process of damage limitation but a bogey followed. He found a bush off the next tee, though managed par and then two-putted for birdie at the last to leave both men level at 18-under with McIlroy, with a birdie on 17, still to play the last hole.
His tee shot was met with shots of “sit, sit, sit”, but he escaped for a winning start to the year.
Following the win, McIlroy said: “It was a battle all day. Honestly, it’s been a battle all week. I haven’t felt like I had my best all week. But I played really smart. Ecstatic I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out. I feel like there’s tonnes of room for improvement but it’s a great start to the year.
“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 to get in the way. I had to forget who was on the leaderboard. I showed a lot of mental strength out there.”
