McIlroy Runner-Up... 'Ah, Hazard Bogey on the Final 18th Hole'

DP World Tour Dubai Invitational FR 4 Under Par
Fleetwood's 7th Career Win, Prize Money 560 Million KRW
Lawrence Tied 2nd, Smith 4th, Molinari 5th

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) missed out on the victory he had hoped for in the first tournament of the new year.

Rory McIlroy (right) and Tommy Fleetwood are talking before the tee shot at the 1st hole of the 4th round of the Dubai Invitational. [Dubai=EPA·Yonhap News]

On the 14th (local time), at the final 4th round of the DP World Tour Dubai Invitational (total prize money $2.5 million) held at Dubai Creek Golf Club (par 71, 7,059 yards) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, McIlroy posted a 4-under-par round but settled for a tie for 2nd place (18-under-par 266) due to a tee shot mistake on the final 18th hole (par 4). He missed out on his 17th DP World Tour win, his first in six months since the Genesis Scottish Open last July.

Starting the round one stroke behind in 2nd place, McIlroy carded seven birdies and three bogeys. After back-to-back birdies on holes 3 and 5, he took a brief breather with a bogey on the 6th hole (par 4), then continued the victory chase with three consecutive birdies from holes 11 to 13. Following a bogey on the 14th hole (par 3), he reclaimed the top of the leaderboard with birdies on holes 15 and 17. However, on the 18th hole, his tee shot went left into the hazard. After a one-stroke penalty, he finished with a ‘3-on 2-putt’ for a bogey.

World No. 15 Tommy Fleetwood (England) maintained his position at the top by shooting 4-under. This marked his 7th DP World Tour win, his first in 1 year and 2 months since the Nedbank Golf Challenge in November 2022, with a winner’s prize of $425,000 (approximately 560 million KRW). Triston Lawrence (South Africa) finished tied for 2nd, Jordan Smith (England) placed 4th (16-under-par 268), and Francesco Molinari (Italy) ended the tournament in 5th place (15-under-par 269).