Fleetwood gives Mcilroy taste of his own medicine in Dubai
Rory Mcilroy, who spectacularly finished birdie-birdie to win last year’s Genesis Scottish Open, was handed a taste of his own medicine by Tommy Fleetwood in a dramatic finish to the inaugural Dubai Invitational.
After damaging his title hopes with an astonishing three-putt from just two feet at the 14th hole in the closing circuit at Dubai Creek, Mcilroy recovered manfully to birdie the 15th and 17th to hold a one-shot lead over both playing partner Fleetwood and Triston Lawrence, who’d signed off with a 63 to post the clubhouse target on 18-underpar, standing on the 18th tee.
Agonisingly, Mcilroy turned his drive over too much and found the water before closing with a bogey, while Fleetwood, who had already rolled in a 31-footer for a birdie at the penultimate hole, made his Ryder Cup team-mate pay a costly price as he also converted a 16-footer for a birdie to claim victory worth $425,000 at the death.
“Yeah, it was good,” said Fleetwood, smiling, as he reflected on coming out on top after a last-day duel with the world No 2 and five-time Race to Dubai champion. “The putt I holed at 17 was obviously very important it kept me at least in it and I then played the last hole well.
“To be fair, I’d watched Rory the way he finished in Scotland and the putt he holed there and there was a certain element of me that felt it was my turn. Overall, hitting the putt I did and feeling like it was going in from quite a way out is a very nice feeling.”
In his first round in 2024, Mcilroy had opened the new event with a blistering 62 to lead by two shots before running up a quadruple-bogey 7 at the eighth in the second round after doubling that cushion. Though the finish hurt, the fact he could raise a smile en route to the recording area told its own story as far as the week as a whole was concerned.
“Just some sloppy mistakes in there,” said Mcilroy. “I still shot 18 under par for the week and played pretty good. Some of the irons shots, especially on the back nine, including the tee shot into 14 and tee shot into 16, a lot of those were really good shots. I just need to tidy up the other stuff.”
According to Fleetwood, putting is now one of the “strong elements” of Mcilroy’s game but what about that shocking three-stab? “Just a bit of a lapse of concentration,” admitted the Northern Irishman.
“I felt I hit a decent first putt but, when I looked up, I was like ‘jeez, I must have pushed that’ so I was sort of guarding against a push with the one coming back and I’ve hit it left. Obviously a bad sequence of events there.”
Mcilroy is staying on in the UAE to defend his Hero Dubai Desert classic title in the opening Rolex Series event of 2024 at Emirates Golf Club. “Look, I wish I had been the one lifting the trophy today and not Tommy, but I’m pleased with how I’ve played first week back,” he said. “I’m looking forward to next week. It’s obviously a course I’ve had lot of success on and I love going back there. It will be nice to get another bite at the cherry.”
Fleetwood’s fellow Dubaibased player, Ewen Ferguson, finished as the top Scot, signing off with a 68 to tie for 11th on ten-under, seven shots better than Grant Forrest following his last-round 69.