Rory Mcilroy successfully defended his title at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, creating history in the process. The 34-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland secured his fourth victory at the Emirates Golf Club in the UAE, becoming the first person to achieve this in DP World Tour history.

 

 

Mcilroy Secures Fourth Title with Victory at the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic

 

 

Mcilroy, who was 10 shots behind before the third round, made an impressive comeback with a 9-under 63 on Saturday, earning him a spot in the final group on Sunday. Starting the final round two shots behind, the 17-time DP World Tour winner made three birdies on the front nine, finishing with a one-shot victory at 14 under. He only had one bogey during the round at the par-5 13th, marking his sole bogey of the weekend and his first since the 11th hole on Friday.

 

 

Expressing his satisfaction, McIlroy said, “It’s a great start to the season. I started well last year with the win here. There are still a couple of little things to work on, but these weeks are great. You learn a ton from them, and it's obviously great to get the competition and come out on top as well.”

 

Anticipating his chances, Mcilroy shared, “I thought on Friday night, I thought ten under for the weekend, I would have a really good chance to win. I shot (11 under) and ended up winning by one.”

 

 

This victory marked Mcilroy's sixth win in Dubai, where he is widely admired by the fans. Reflecting on his performance, he mentioned, “I’ve played the game long enough to sort of know how these things are going to go. Thankfully, I played the golf I needed to, and it’s just incredible to get my fourth win here at the Emirates.”

 

 

India’s Shubhankar Sharma shot 2-under 70 despite missing a lot of birdie putts. Yet he moved up from overnight T-52 to T-30. He started with a bogey but rallied well and finished the day with four birdies against two bogeys.

Sharma said, “I missed a few birdie putts and have not scored on the par-5s. There is one more day to go.”

 

 

Adrian Meronk finished as the runner-up at 13 under, with Cameron Young securing third place at 12 under. Pablo Larrazabal posted the low round of the day with a 6-under 66, finishing tied for fourth at 10 under alongside Aaron Cockerill and Joaquin Niemann.

 

 

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