Rory McIlroy has won the Dubai Desert Classic after beating Patrick Reed by a single shot in a gripping final round.
The Hollywood native had a three-shot lead going into the delayed last round after a late blunder on Sunday gave the chasing pack renewed hope of preventing his third win in the event.
But a final round of 68 just saw McIlroy edge out his rival in the Middle East as he sunk a huge putt on the final hole to clinch victory. "It's was one of the toughest rounds I've ever had to play," a beaming McIlroy said afterwards. "I showed a lot of mental strength today."
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“It means a lot,” McIlroy added. “It was a battle all day, it’s been a battle all week. I really feel I haven’t had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart.
"I just really had to concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really, really well,” McIlroy added on Sky Sports.
“Just ecstatic that I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and there’s tonnes of room for improvement but it’s a great start to the year.”
His final round included five birdies and one bogey as Reed battled him all the way at the Emirates Golf Club.
McIlroy dropped a shot after narrowly missing a putt on the 15th hole, but Reed also dropped a shot on 16 to leave the pair level at the top of the leaderboard.
The American then held his nerve to par the 17th before McIlroy sank a birdie putt on the same hole to take a one-shot lead into the final hole.
The world number one narrowly avoided the water from his tee shot on the 18th as he watched Reed miss an eagle putt on the same hole.
But the Texas native did putt for a birdie to finish 18-under-par for the week before McIlroy left himself with a putt to win the tournament.
And he held his nerve to sink a massive putt to secure victory by a single shot and a third Dubai Desert Classic title. It was the scene of his first ever professional victory back in 2009.
McIlroy will pick up a big pay cheque, with the winner pocketing over $1.5million. Here's a full breakdown of the prize money for the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic top 10:
Winner: $1,530,000
2: $990,000
3: $563,400
4: $450,000
5: $381,600
6: $315,000
7: $270,000
8: $225,000
9: $201,600
10: $180,000
McIlroy and Reed were involved in an incident on the driving range ahead of the tournament when Reed threw a tee at the world number one.
McIlroy insisted he did not feel the need to acknowledge Reed after the incident in the Middle East.
Asked what had happened in his pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy said: “I was down by my bag and he came up to me, and I was busy working and sort of doing my practice, and I didn’t really feel like… I didn’t feel the need to acknowledge him.
“So I didn’t see a tee coming my direction at all, but apparently that’s what happened. And if roles were reversed and I’d have thrown that tee at him, I’d be expecting a lawsuit.”
That was a reference to the legal action Reed is taking on several fronts following his decision to join the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.
The former Masters champion is one of 13 players involved in an arbitration case with the DP World Tour over sanctions imposed for playing the first LIV event last June and has also launched a defamation lawsuit against several media members and organisations.
The lawyer representing Reed in that case also subpoenaed McIlroy and Tiger Woods in regards to the players-only meeting that was held prior to the BMW Championship in August.
The subpoenas are part of a civil lawsuit filed in June by Larry Klayman which claims that Florida residents who bought tickets to PGA Tour events, or would in future, were damaged by the PGA Tour allegedly weakening fields by suspending players who joined LIV.
Asked if it was naive of Reed to expect a warm welcome given the circumstances, McIlroy told Sky Sports: “I was subpoenaed by his lawyer on Christmas Eve.
“So of course, trying to have a nice time with my family and someone shows up on your doorstep and delivers that, you’re not going to take that well.
“I’m living in reality, I don’t know where he’s living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”
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