DUBAI: The 14 feet and six inches that the ball had to travel before dropping into the cup may well have been a mile. For Rory McIlroy, that putt to win at the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic came with an enormous weight on his shoulders. Once it disappeared. the ghosts that have demonized him for a while, have been buried too.
On the game this week and that second shot on the 18th, he said, "I really feel like I haven't had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart. 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. I definitely feel like there's tons of room forimprovement but it's a great start to the year."
The Trophy was presented by Dr Pawan Munjal, who interestingly was his partner in the Pro-Am ahead of the tournament. "Good vibes, maybe," said a smiling member of McIlroy's team.
A year ago, McIlroy went into that lake guarding the 18th green and lost the chance to hold aloft the 'Dallah Trophy' a third time. This Sunday he again went into the water, but this time it was the third day on account of unprecedented rains earlier in the week necessitating a rare Monday finish. The 54-hole lead instead of being more than four fell to three. All was not lost.
On Monday, giving him a run from the start was Patrick Reed, who had three birdies in first six holes and McIlroy had none in eight. The World No. 1 birdied ninth and 10th, but Reed eagled 10th and birdied 11th. Reed had started four behind, but was level with McIlroy, who was playing one group behind.
For a fleeting moment, Reed (18-under) was ahead when McIlroy bogeyed 15th to drop to 17-under. Reed, still on 16th fairway, missed a seven-footer par and fell back to 17-under. On 17th, McIlroy drove 313 yards to the fringe, 27 yards from the pin. He putted to three feet five inches and holed it for abirdie to go one ahead.
