Golf news: Rory McIlroy wins Dubai Desert Classic
In the aftermath of a spat over a bizarre tee-flinging incident with Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy let his golf do the talking to take out the Dubai Desert Classic by just one stroke over his rival.
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Rory McIlroy prevailed in a nail-biting finish over Patrick Reed, the man he “prefers not to acknowledge” after a spat between the two, in the rain-delayed Dubai Desert Classic on Monday.
It was the first time McIlroy has won the first start of his new season and is his 15th DP World Tour victory in 231 starts.
His one-stroke victory was also his third Dubai Desert Classic success in 13 appearances.
He will remain world number one, after Spaniard Jon Rahm failed to win the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour on Saturday.
McIlroy and Reed went into the tournament after a row when Reed reportedly threw a tee towards McIlroy on the practice range in Dubai.
The incident, caught on camera, turned out to be a lot milder than reported but the two have been at odds since McIlroy criticised players, including Reed, who joined the rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.
Relations were not helped by McIlroy receiving a subpoena from Reed’s lawyer on Christmas Eve to appear as a witness in a case.
McIlroy had fallen behind Reed after a bogey on the 15th hole but he made amends with birdies on the 17th and 18th in a round of four-under par 68.
The Northern Irishman finished on 19-under par, while Reed, starting the day four shots behind McIlroy, made a crucial bogey on the 16th and a par on the drivable par-4 17th hole in his round of 65.
“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,” said McIlroy, who won $1.53 million for his effort.
“I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself. I had to forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really well.” McIlroy blew his chances last year when he hit his second shot into the water on the final hole -- and he almost repeated the scenario with his tee shot on the 18th.
“Honestly, I feel I got lucky that my ball didn’t go in the water. It’s such an awkward tee shot for me,” he said.
“Driver is too much and 3-wood is not quite enough. So I tried to hit a sort of easy driver and it came out really, really hot. I needed to lay up and try to get up-and-down that way.
“I said, ‘fool me once and fool me twice’, but I wasn’t going to get fooled a third time. It was nice to be able to play the percentages and make it pay off.”
- ‘Hats off’ to McIlroy -
McIlroy said such an early first win was even sweeter as he was not playing his best golf through the week.
“It means a lot. It was a battle all day. Honestly, it’s been a battle all week,” said McIlroy.
“I really feel like I haven’t had my best all week, but I just managed my game so well and played really smart.” Reed edged ahead by a shot when McIlroy made a bogey on the par-3 15th but gave it up on the next hole when his drive got stymied by a tree.
He then had to take a drop shot on the 17th from a small bush, and could not take advantage of the drivable par-4.
“I’m happy with that finish. I felt like we were probably almost playing for second going into the day,” said Reed.
“I knew what I had to do early. I went out there and I put the pressure on him. You know, being four back of a guy like Rory is not easy.
“Hats off to him, he played some great golf.” Australian Lucas Herbert, champion in 2019, closed with a six-under par 66 to take solo third place at 16-under par 272.
England’s Callum Shinkwin, who started with three bogies in his first six holes playing in the lead group with McIlroy, made six birdies after that to shoot a 69 and take solo fourth place at 273.
The DP World Tour stays in the United Arab Emirates for a fourth consecutive week and will head to the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah this week for the $2 million RAK Championship.
WHERE MCILROY, REED SPAT FITS IN GOLF’S BOOK OF FEUDS
Robert Craddock
In the genteel world of professional golf, flicking a tee at another player is the equivalent of throwing a cream pie in his face.
A flying tee harms no man but it’s the angry intention which sets the vibe and rocks the world.
And it’s why the stunning fallout between LIV golf’s abrasive, unpopular Patrick Reed and the traditional tour’s pin-up boy Rory McIlroy, has become the talk of global sport.
McIlroy ignored Reed’s attempts to shake his hand when the warring parties came together in a tournament in Dubai this week, prompting Reed to throw a tee in his direction.
“Rory just looked down there and was messing with his Trackman and kind of decided to ignore us,” Reed said.
“If you’re going to act like an immature little child, then you might as well be treated like one.”
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE GOLF’S FIVE GREATEST FEUDS
McIllroy responded by saying he has been served with a writ by Reed’s lawyers on Christmas Eve for an unspecified court case. And it miffed him.
“Patrick came up to say hello, and I didn’t really want him to,” McIlroy said.. “And if roles were reversed and I’d have thrown that tee at him, I’d be expecting him (to file) a lawsuit.”
Cop that. Golf, a sport where you are expected to apologise if you stand on your opponent’s line on a green, has barely ever witnessed such withering put downs.
Welcome to Tee Gate.
— Amanda Rose (@AmandaGolf59) January 25, 2023
Rory McIlroy couldn’t be bothered after Patrick Reed subpoenaed him last month (don’t blame Rory)
And then PReed tossed a tee in his direction like a 12 year old after mom said no more range balls. pic.twitter.com/NLa3lFamX0
If they are saying these things in public imagine what they are saying behind closed doors.
Reed and McIlroy are two of the finest golfers in the world but suddenly they sounded like two mid-range boxers trying to amp up a fight where ticket sales have been snail-paced.
But where boxing rivalries are often fake and fabricated this fallout is real.
Experienced American golf writer Alan Shipnuck tweeted: “This tee-flinging controversy involving Reed is so dumb but I will say that many of the LIV guys are quite fed up with what they perceive to be Rory’s self-righteousness and this animosity has been building for a while.’’
McIIroy is the hero of the PGA and DP world tours for championing their cause at every opportunity and speaking out against the “men in black’’ who took massive millions to join Greg Norman’s breakaway group backed by Saudi royal family who have an horrendous human rights record.
"I just didn't want to talk to him."
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 25, 2023
Rory McIlroy plays down talk of a confrontation with Patrick Reed ahead of this week's Hero Dubai Desert Classic.pic.twitter.com/LwT9faQvlQ
McIIroy says he hates the damage the war is doing to golf a more pertinent question is whether the war is really damaging the game at all.
The stagnant golf scene, which like tennis can often float along without meaning between the majors, is alive and full of drama.
Pay packets on both sides have surged to record levels. So who is really suffering? LIV, for all its many foibles, is taking the sport around the globe.
The traditional tour officials have privately consoled themselves that LIV have taken many of the sport’s players who were considered abrasive by their peers … Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka among them.
But these players are also massive drawcards. PGA star Sam Burns may be No 13 in the world rankings compared to Mickelson’s current spot of 239 yet hall of famer Mickelson still draws a far bigger gallery.
The rival outfits will come together in the four golf majors where interest is expected to surge to heights not seen since Tiger Woods was in his pomp.
More fireworks surely lie ahead. Bring it on.
GOLF’S FIVE GREATEST FEUDS
5) Ian Poulter v Tiger Woods
It was 2008 when Poulter gave the interview that would follow him for years. “I haven’t played to my full potential yet,” he said. “And when that happens, it will just be me and Tiger.” The statement ruffled some feathers at the Dubai Desert Classic, where both men were due to play that week, with talk of the field quitting the range to leave them to it. Hank Haney, Woods’s former coach, later added more fuel to the ire when he said Woods had dubbed Poulter a “dick” who “mooched a ride on my plane”.
4) Brooks Koepka v Bryson Dechambeau
Now merrily rubbing shoulders together at LIV Golf, they used to just rub each other the wrong way. Koepka was clearly exasperated by DeChambeau’s methods and memorably cried: “Oh, no, an ant!” in Memphis in 2020 in a tribute to his rival having cited the “dangerous animal condition” in a quest for relief. A year on and a clip of Koepka rolling his eyes as DeChambeau interrupted an interview went viral. DeChambeau was duly taunted with cries of “Brooksy” at tournaments and Koepka was accused of trolling when he offered free beer for fans who had been ejected for the crime. As time went on those invested in this feud began to wonder whether they had been duped, with Pete Cowen, Koepka’s coach, saying: “It’s a bit of banter, isn’t it? They don’t dislike each other.”
3) The USA v The USA
American Ryder Cup teams have not always ended the clash in a state of grace. In 2014, Phil Mickelson shamelessly threw captain Tom Watson under the bus in the post-match press conference, but that paled alongside events in Paris in 2018. After the USA’s defeat, Patrick Reed told the New York Times he was “blindsided” by not being paired with Jordan Spieth. “I don’t have any issue with Jordan,” he said. “When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with.” As tempers frayed, Dustin Johnson and Koepka belatedly located some fighting spirit - and allegedly had to be pulled apart at the afterparty.
2) Nick Faldo v Sergio Garcia
Faldo has several feuds on his CV - Paul Azinger, Greg Norman, Butch Harmon - but let’s pick the one with Garcia. In 2014, Faldo was commentating for NBC when he recalled captaining the Ryder Cup team in 2008. Garcia, he said, had been “useless”. He later upgraded this to merely “lousy”, but it still rankled. Fast-forward to 2018 and Europe’s convincing win in Paris when Garcia became the Ryder Cup’s record points-scorer. “I have passed some of my heroes today (Thursday),” he said, “and Nick Faldo.”
1) Seve Ballesteros v Paul Azinger
This one had legs. And a legend. At the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1989 Ballesteros indicated he wanted to change his damaged ball. Azinger asked to see the evidence and duly disagreed. On the last, Azinger ended up in the water and Ballesteros felt he made a drop in the wrong place. “He knows that I know,” he later said. Two years on, at the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, there was more controversy as Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal complained that Azinger and Chip Beck had violated rules by changing their ball. “We didn’t accuse them of cheating,” clarified Ballesteros. “I think they just didn’t know the rules.” Add Azinger accusing Ballesteros of carefully timed coughing and the Spaniard opining that the US team comprised “11 nice guys and Paul Azinger” and you had the real thing.
Originally published as Golf news: Rory McIlroy wins Dubai Desert Classic
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