McIlroy wins fourth Dubai Desert Classic
Rory McIlroy secured a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic title yesterday having been 10 strokes off the lead at the halfway stage.
The Northern Irishman’s third-round 63 catapulted him into contention before pulling clear on Sunday to retain his title.
McIlroy finished on 14-under-par, one shot clear of Adrian Meronk in second and two clear of Cameron Young in third.
It’s the European’s fourth title at the event, having picked up wins in 2009, 2015 and 2023.
“It is really cool and incredible to get my fourth win here at the Emirates [golf club], the world No2 said. “It is a great start to the season and a great platform to build from.
“It was a really tricky day. It was hard to get it close and make a ton of birdies
“The pivotal point was on eight and nine, making two threes there. I made one blunder on 13 but then thought if I could make par on 14, 15 and 16 I wasn’t going to lose much ground.
“There weren’t a ton of fireworks because the course was so difficult and thankfully no-one at the top of the leaderboard made a big run.”
McIlroy is set to compete next at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February. The purse for the AT&T Pro-Am sits at $20m.
Dates for the McIlroy diary
McIlroy will be one of those looking to use the PGA and European Tours to prepare for the 2024 Masters, which takes place from 8 April.
The other three majors take place thereafter with the PGA Championship in May, US Open in June and the Open in July.