The Co Down native claimed a maiden Rolex Series crown at this event 12 months ago but came into the weekend ten shots back before a stunning third-round 63 put him into the final group on Sunday.

McIlroy turned a two-shot deficit into a four-shot lead with six holes to play before a bogey on the 13th gave the chasing Adrian Meronk, a fomrer Irish Open winner, and US golfer Cameron Young, a glimmer of hope.

Meronk reduced the lead to one in the eighth Race to Dubai tournament of the season, as he signed for a 71. Rory McIlroy held his nerve down the back stretch and signed for a 70 and a 14 under par total, to give him a one-shot victory in the $9 million tournament.

“I didn’t really think about that during the round”

Rory McIlroy reacts to his historic fourth win at the Dubai Desert Classic pic.twitter.com/ISjBFLP2C1

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 21, 2024

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

“I thought on Friday night, I thought ten under for the weekend, I would have a really good chance to win. I shot 11 and ended up winning by one.

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.

“The pivotal point for me came on the eighth and ninth hole – making two threes there, that sort of set me up to try to control it on the way in.

“I made that one blunder on 13 and made bogey there but felt like I steadied the ship well over the last few holes and it was one of those days where there wasn’t a ton of fireworks just because the course was so difficult. I held on as best as I could and thankfully no one around the top of the leaderboard made much of a run.”

American Young finished with a 74 for 12 under, two shots ahead of Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal and Chilean Joaquin Niemann.

The win takes McIlroy past Ernie Els’ hat-trick of Desert Classic victories and hands him his third Rolex Series triumph, having won three of the last five blue riband events.

The Irish golfer becomes just the second player to successfully defend this title after Stephen Gallacher lifted the Dallah Trophy in 2013 and 2014 and makes it six wins in Dubai with his two victories at the DP World Tour Championship.

That winning feeling pic.twitter.com/BGOzUCg6F8

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 21, 2024

Discussing his historic victory, the Holywood golfer said:

“Just to think like 18 years ago, and what it meant to come here and play in this event, to be sitting here, you know, having won it four times, and all the great experiences that I’ve had in Dubai and the friends that I’ve met and everything sort of along the way, it’s always been a place where I come back to and reminisce about my career because I really feel like it’s where everything started. 

“So it’s amazing to sit here. The first Desert Classic, I took a media credential and I walked inside the ropes to follow Tiger and Ernie and Thomas Bjorn, and then just to think about even the arc of that: Thomas Bjorn was my Ryder Cup Captain; I ended up buying Ernie Els’s house; I’ve become really good friends with Tiger Woods. It’s just amazing to think back on the last 18 years and sort of where I find myself. 

!I certainly don’t take anything for granted, and I always appreciate the opportunity to be able to do what I do.”

The 34-year-old has started the defence of his Race to Dubai Rankings with a runner-up finish and a win as he looks to become Europe’s Number One for a sixth time, moving to the top of the Rankings for the 2024 title and the International Swing.

Both Tom McKibbin and Pádraig Harrington finished the tournament on 282.

Select Final scores
 274 R MCILROY) 71 70 63 70, 
 275 A MERONK (POL) 68 66 70 71, 
 276 C YOUNG (USA) 67 64 71 74, 
 278 P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 73 69 70 66, A COCKERILL (CAN) 71 67 72 68, J NIEMANN (CHI) 69 72 67 70,

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It will be a second time in the Ryder Cup for Lowry, and a first of European soil, having played at Whistling Straits in the USA two years ago.

Donald has also chosen Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Højgaard, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka for the European Ryder Cup side. This year’s competition place at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, from September 29 – October 1.

The six captain’s picks join Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm, all of whom qualified automatically for the contest against the United States.

Sweden’s Åberg, Denmark’s Højgaard and Austria’s Straka will all make their Ryder Cup debuts at the end of the month.

For England’s Tommy Fleetwood it will be a third consecutive Ryder Cup, following his debut in 2018 when he won four points out of five in Paris. Justin Rose, another English player, will be making his sixth appearance at the Ryder Cup, and his first since Paris five years ago.

Luke Donald

European Captain Donald said: “I am delighted to announce Ludvig, Tommy, Nicolai, Shane, Justin and Sepp as part of Team Europe for the Ryder Cup, joining the six players who qualified automatically.
 
“We have great depth of talent in Europe, and that is perfectly illustrated with the team we now have confirmed for Rome, which is a strong blend of players with previous Ryder Cup experience combined with exciting and talented rookies.
 
“I’m really pleased to have this team now in place, and we are all looking forward to going to Rome later this month and trying to win back the Ryder Cup.”

EUROPEAN TEAM FOR THE 2023 RYDER CUP

Ludvig Åberg (Sweden). Age 23. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)
Matt Fitzpatrick (England). Age 29. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2016, 2021)
Tommy Fleetwood (England) Age 32. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)
Tyrrell Hatton (England). Age 31. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)
Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark). Age 22. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)
Viktor Hovland (Norway). Age 25. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 1 (2021)
Shane Lowry (Ireland). Age 36. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 1 (2021)
Robert MacIntyre (Scotland). Age 27. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland). Age 34. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 6 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021)
Jon Rahm (Spain). Age 28. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)
Justin Rose (England) Age 43. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 5 (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Sepp Straka (Austria). Age 30. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)

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Commenting on his performance, Rory McIlroy said:

“I putted well all day. I felt yesterday against Keegan (Bradley) I found something or I got a feel, and then putted really well this morning against Lucas, and then continued that this afternoon.

“I think winning the Match Play is always a massive accomplishment because of what you have to go through. It’s seven rounds and – especially this week, I feel like a lot of my matches have been really, really close, so to be able to pull them out when I’ve needed to has been very gratifying.”

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler came from behind to beat Jason Day 2&1, while Sam Burns saw off Mackenzie Hughes 3&2 in their quarter-final.

The World Number One found himself three down in the early stages before winning three holes without reply to level things up after 12 holes.

He then won the 13th and 14th to go 2UP before almost making an ace at the 17th, with a birdie there clinching his tenth consecutive match win at this event.

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The Norwegian was barely in the picture when he missed a short putt and made a bogey on the 15th but he finished birdie-eagle-birdie to sign for a 66 and post the target at 12 under.

Bland joined him in the clubhouse with a birdie-birdie finish of his own in a 68, with two-time champion Rory McIlroy finding water on the last to fall out of the play-off.

Hovland made a two-putt birdie on the first trip back up the 18th and when Bland failed to get up and down after finding a tricky lie with his second, it was the 24-year-old who was left holding the Dallah trophy at Emirates Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy cards 71 on final day

Rory McIlroy signed for a 71 to finish at 11 under, three shots clear of South African pair Justin Harding and Erik van Rooyen, English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Sam Horsfield and Pole Adrian Meronk.

Hovland becomes the first Norwegian to win a Rolex Series event. He adds this title to his maiden DP World Tour victory at the 2021 BMW International Open.

“This is pretty wild,” admitted Hovland. “I didn’t really think this was possible going in today. I knew I had to shoot a really low number but a lot of things had to go my way and thankful that it did.

“I was fuming after the three-putt on 15 and thought that was it. I knew I just had to try to finish off well and get a nice position for the week. I rolled a really long one on 16, and then on 17, and hey, we got a shot.

“I’m pumping right now. It’s a little bit surreal, and it’s hard to kind of calm yourself a little bit but you’ve just got to rely on all the shots that you hit and just go back to what you know.”

Third win in five starts for Hovland

It is his third win in five starts after back-to-back victories in November and December at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and Hero World Challenge, and could move him up to third in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I have quite a lot to prove to be able to beat those guys (Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa in the Official World Golf Ranking) but this is a good start and we’ll see what happens.

“I try not to over emphasise the Majors and the big tournaments. Obviously, these are the ones we want to play well in, but you know, this is a really cool week, great field, good course. I try to just prepare myself the best that I can for every single week.”

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McIlroy sealed his 20th PGA Tour win, which granted him lifetime membership with a one-shot win over Collin Morikawa after a strong final two days at The Summit Club in Las Vegas.

The Northern Irish golfer was nine shots off the lead heading into the weekend but a 10-under 62 on Saturday brought him into the race ahead of the final day and a score of 66 saw him beat out the challengers.

Rickie Fowler was the leader heading into Sunday and was paired with McIlroy for the day but missed several important putts and was eclipsed by McIlroy and Morikawa, tied with Keith Mitchell for third.

McIlroy built upon his Sunday form at the Ryder Cup where he won his singles match to salvage an otherwise poor tournament individually.

The competition veteran had lost all three of his matches in the first two days and the one point he scored was the lowest total he had managed at a single Ryder Cup.

“It was huge. It really was. I was really disappointed with how I played [at the Ryder Cup],” he said in his greenside interview with PGA Tour.

“There was a lot of reflection in the last couple of weeks. This is what I need to do. I need to play golf, I need to simplify it. I need to just be me. I think for the last few months I was maybe trying to be someone else to try and get better.

“I realised that being me is enough, and being me I can do things like this.”

The 32-year-old becomes the 39th player to win 20 events on the tour and has won the same amount of events on the calendar as Phil Mickelson did at his age, excluding majors.

It’s the fifth season in a row that the golfer from Down has won an event and the seventh time he has won at least twice in a calendar year.

McIlroy’s lifetime membership will begin after he completes 15 years as a Tour member – his first Tour was in 2010.

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It was a tense and thrilling final day in the Men’s Individual Stroke Play at Kasumigaseki Country Club today, the County Down golfer finished in a tie for 4^th after a thrilling seven-way playoff for the bronze medal.

Having carded a final round 67, 4-under par, McIlroy joined the 7-way playoff for bronze. Open champion Collin Morikawa (USA), CT Pan (Chinese Taipei), Mito Pereira (Chile), Sebastián Munoz (Columbia), Paul Casey (GB) and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) all finished on 15-under par with McIlroy.

McIlroy made a 10-foot putt on the first play-off hole to progress while Matsuyama and Casey bowed out. On the next, all 5 remaining players made par. Morikawa and CT Pan birdied the third play-off hole to knock McIlroy, Pereira and Munoz out.

McIlroy determined to make Paris Olympics

Despite his disappointment at not winning a medal, McIlroy said of his first Olympic experience:

“It makes me even more determined going to Paris and trying to pick one up. It’s disappointing going away without any hardware. I’ve been saying all day I’ve never tried so hard in my life to finish third!

“It’s been a great experience. Today was a great day to be up there in contention for a medal. Certainly it had a different feeling to it than I expected but as I said, I’m already looking forward to 3 years’ time and hopefully go at least one better, if not three better.”

Offaly’s Shane Lowry had to settle for a tie for 22^nd as his final day saw him stall, shooting a level par 71. A bogey on the par 3 4^th hole, followed by a double-bogey on the 8^th put an end to his medal chances. Lowry birdied 3 of his final 4 holes to secure the top 25 spot.

Xander Schauffele held his overnight lead to secure the Gold Medal for USA, while Rory Sabbatini (Slovakia) fired a superb final round 61 to take Silver.

Gymnastics history maker Rhys McClenaghan

Rhys McClenaghan became the first Irish gymnast to reach an Olympic final. McClenaghan finished in 7^th place in the Men’s Pommel Horse final with a score of 13.100.

McClenaghan was second last to take to the pommel following a host of other impressive performances across the board. An unfortunate error early on though, saw him catch his finger under the handle of the pommel which resulted in a fall from the horse.

He regained his composure quickly though and completed his routine in magnificent style, with a clean dismount, but knew that it was not enough for a podium finish. His final score of 13.100 was a combination of a 6.400 difficulty score and an execution score of 6.700.

“I was disappointed with my performance today,” he commented. “It could have gone a lot better of course, just that one finger got caught under the handle. That one finger got caught, and that’s the finest of margins in gymnastics, where that one finger placement wrong can throw you off course. It’s the beauty of the sport as well the fact that it makes it so exciting. I’m excited to get back out there and just be better than ever.”

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With a round of 68 for Lowry, he moves to 10-under and into a tie for 9^th while McIlroy sits 1 shot further ahead on 11-under after a round of 67.

Playing alongside each other, the pair both started the day on 7-under par and McIlroy admits it was a great way to stay relaxed.

“I was sort of trying to keep pace with him on the front 9, he got off to a great start,” explained McIlroy.

“Then it sort of felt like he was trying to keep pace with me on the back, he got unlucky on 14 with the ball getting stuck up the tree. It was really good to play with him, we fed off each other, we kept it really relaxed out there like it’s been all week.

“It would have been great to get to play with one another again tomorrow but it looks like we’re probably going to be a group apart, but it was good fun and I think it was good for both of us to keep us relaxed.”

Despite playing as individuals and not necessarily as a team, both players were keen to support one another and cheer each other on.

Lowry noted that although they are playing against each other, he wants to see two Irish flags on the first page of the leaderboard.

McIlroy sits just three shots off the lead which is held by Xander Schauffele of the United States on 14-under par – his plan for tomorrow’s final round is simple.

“Give it my all. It’s the last opportunity to do this for another three years – usually, it’s four – so it’s just to go out there and give it my all. Leave it all out there and hopefully, it’s enough.”

 Lowry too, although slightly further back, is just three shots short of a bronze medal place and feels he has even better golf in him still.

Lowry has made 15 birdies across the first three rounds of the Olympic tournament and limited the number of bogeys to five.

The Offaly golfer does not feel like he’s playing at his best but added that he senses that that he can get a low score tomorrow.

“I know I shot a good score yesterday but I feel like I have a low score in me out there and wouldn’t it be a great day for it to happen tomorrow?,” the Irishman said.

“I’m looking forward to it, I hope I can play my best golf tomorrow. If I do, I do, and if I don’t then I don’t – but one thing’s for certain I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Lowry held a significant 25ft putt on the 18^th green to save par, in his mind, it could be an important one come tomorrow afternoon.

“I was very happy with that putt on the last, I feel like that was huge for me, it would have made my evening a little more disappointing than it is if I had missed. Three-under is not the greatest score out there, but it’s still decent and I’ve got a chance to do something very special tomorrow and I’m excited about it.”

To see the two golfers’ tee times for the final round, click here.

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Team Ireland golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are in the mix for medals heading into round four of the tournament.

McIlroy is tied-fifth on 11-under-par and is three off tournament leader Xander Schauffele and one shot off the bronze medal position.

Lowry is one shot behind his Team Ireland teammate on 10-under and the pair will be hoping to continue the climb they started in round two with a medal or two for Team Ireland within reach.

There were birdies aplenty for the two golfers but also several bogeys to keep them outside of the top three after three rounds.

McIlroy managed six birdies with a very impressive score of 33 on the front nine but the Northern Irish golfer had problems on the final few holes once again.

Lowry looked to be on a clear path to the top of the leaderboard after eight holes but his momentum was stopped by on the ninth hole.

His form waned on the back nine with a bogey on the par-5 hole 14 that summed up a frustrating end to what could have been a very strong day.

Nevertheless, the pair are still in contention for Olympic medals as they prepare for the final round and they will be confident in their abilities after producing some impressive golf in the last two rounds.

Rory McIlroy will tee-off for the final time at Kasumigaseki Country Club at approximately 2:58 am alongside two other podium challengers, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz and Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz.

Shane Lowry will begin his final round just over twenty minutes earlier than his Team Ireland counterpart.

The Offaly golfer will tee-off at 2:36 am with Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and New Zealand’s Cameron Smith in his group.

McIlroy is currently 10/1 to go all the way in the tournament with Shane Lowry eighth-favourite at 28/1.

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Now at the halfway stage, McIlroy and Lowry’s rounds of 66 and 65 respectively have seen them move up the leaderboard after an unspectacular first day.

Overnight, the pair sat in tied 31^st and tied 20^th place respectively and were determined to make a move towards the medal positions.

The Team Ireland duo are currently tied for 7^th and right into the mix heading into the weekend with some play from round two still to finish tomorrow after a weather stoppage.

“It felt good, it didn’t feel much different to yesterday,” said McIlroy, who opened with a round of 69.

“I felt like I played well yesterday, I just didn’t score as good as I could have and I think that’s why I came off the course maybe not as disappointed as I would have been because I knew that the good golf was in there and it was nice to see some of that good golf today.”

Ranked 13^th in the Official World Golf Rankings, McIlroy drove the green on the 294-yard par 4 6^th, before sending his eagle attempt 15 feet by.

Holing the return effort, it was the start of a nice run that saw him make the turn on 6-under par.

“It was a momentum starter, I three-putted that green yesterday so I was sort of thinking of that as well,” he laughed.

“It was nice to hole that one coming back and it certainly gave me some momentum going to the 7^th, that tee shot there was good and the eagle on the 8^th was great. There are a few holes here that the length off the tee is an advantage and that is one of them.”

Play resumed at 6.20 am after a second weather stoppage of the tournament at 3:57 am, and neither McIlroy’s nor Lowry’s momentum was dampened as they both carded birdies on the restart.

“Golf’s a funny game,” Lowry reflected afterwards.

“I started off lovely and just sort of had that momentum for the whole day then. Especially when I came out after the delay. I holed a lovely putt on 13, an eight or nine-footer, and then from there, I just played lovely for the rest of the day.

“I actually missed a short one on 17, which would have been nice to hole, but I’m happy with my score and very happy that I have a chance to do something special over the weekend.”

Xander Schauffele (USA) set the pace on 11-under with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, Chile’s Mito Periera, Alex Noren of Sweden and Austria’s Sepp Straka also within touching distance of those elusive medal positions.

The two Irish golfers are also close to Schauffele and the pack leaders and will look to close down that gap over the next two rounds.

Lowry wants to keep the momentum going and climb up that leaderboard again.

“Same thing, stay patient and try and make as many birdies as I can. The worst thing you can do is go out there and be really aggressive and make silly mistakes because at the end of the day, we’re only playing for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd this week and that’s what it’s all about.

“I just want to get off to a good start tomorrow, shoot a good score and get in the mix for Sunday. That’s what I’ve been wanting since The Open has finished. My full mindset has been just about putting my head down and trying to get myself into contention on Sunday of the Olympics – that even seems weird to say that! Hopefully that happens.”

Play was suspended for a second time at 09.30 am, and will not be resumed this evening, so the Irish pairing will have to wait until tomorrow morning for the third round draw.

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McIlroy shot five-under-par to fire himself into medal contention in the final two rounds after an unspectacular first day.

Lowry went one better with a six-under Friday to go level with his Team Ireland teammate in joint-fourth.

McIlroy’s 18-hole performance was erratic at times but the Northern Irish golfer impressed overall on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Golf tournament.

Furthermore, McIlroy was comfortable and composed for much of the day with a strong first nine putting him in a good position before play was stopped due to the weather after 12 holes.

He parred the first five holes and followed them up with two birdies in a row and an eagle on the par-five eighth hole.

A bogey on hole 11 threatened to dampen his day but McIlroy’s response was strong, coming back with a birdie on 12 and following it up with two birdies after play was resumed.

His swings were strong but proved detrimental to McIlroy on several occasions.

The tee shot on 15 went awry and forced the World Number 13 into a tough situation that he only got out of with a bit of luck.

His third shot on the final hole had too much power and missed the green, leading to the Olympian’s bogey to finish proceedings for the day.

Shane Lowry also had a strong second round to put himself firmly in contention for a medal, something that he desires.

Lowry never managed to eagle a hole but seven birdies across his round saw the Offalyman shoot up the leaderboard.

Holes six to eight on the first nine saw 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year score three birdies in a row but a bogey on nine threatened to settle down the hot streak.

It failed and Lowry posted an even better back nine to end the day with a score of 65 and sits on seven-under in the tournament.

Three birdies in the space of four holes towards the end of his 18 holes sent a statement to his opposition that he’s coming for the medal he wants.

Tee times for the final two rounds are set to be announced after round two ends.

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