The DP World Tour couldn’t have started the year better. What a spectacle the final round of the Dubai Invitational has given us. Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy have fought a fabulous duel in which the South African Thriston Lawrence almost sneaked in through the kitchen. It was a dramatic exchange of extraordinary strokes and some rather gross errors. Pure emotion. Stress. Competition.
Fleetwood took the cat to the water, never better said. He won the tournament with two superb final birdies. On the 17th he putted nine meters, Tommy’s trademark, those putts that are always remembered from the Englishman in his victories. And on the 18th he finished with another sensational birdie. He holed from just under five meters. They were two free throws to win the match. Life or death. Only inside was worth it. Absolute pressure. And Fleetwood solved it with the same ease that he subjected Rickie Fowler to in the Ryder Cup to give the decisive point to Europe. It seems that it was in Rome, precisely, when the Southport remembered how to win tournaments. He hadn’t done it since the 2022 Nedbank South African.
The cat to the water is literal because Rory McIlroy handed over the trophy on a silver platter with a series of strokes that only exist in Rorylandia, and which only a genius like the Northern Irishman can survive, although sometimes, like today, even for him it is impossible. Rory was about to win a tournament in which he went into the water five times, twice in the last round, where he made a quadruple bogey (second day) and after three-putting from 60.96 centimeters on the 14th hole of the final round. Yes, he was about to win. He was one stroke short. Almost unheard of.
Let’s go with the outcome. The detail is worth it. Fleetwood, who started with a one-stroke lead, dominated the first two thirds of the final round with a steady hand. Practically at all times he had a two-stroke lead. A little cushion. McIlroy didn’t lose sight of him, but he didn’t move his chair either. Meanwhile, Zander Lombard and Thriston Lawrence were approaching from behind. Quietly. Like in motorbikes or Formula One, taking advantage of the fight ahead to join the party.
Just on the 13th hole, finally, Rory caught Fleetwood in the lead. They tied at -18. Three consecutive birdies by Rory were to blame. Two great shots (11 and 13) and a fabulous nine-meter putt (12). It was the turning point that seemed definitive with Rory’s sublime shot on the 14th, par 3. The lord of Holywood was levitating at the Dubai Creek Resort. He had made the fourth consecutive birdie… Or not.
Incredibly he missed it. From 60.96 centimeters. He passed just over a meter and also missed the return. Three putts. Bogey. Absolute drama. Rory’s things. Fleetwood took the lead again with a one-stroke lead and almost at the same time Lawrence tied for the lead with a birdie on the 17th. Lombard fell earlier. From there, madness…
McIlroy made the birdie on the 15th after sinking a six-meter putt. Suddenly, with three holes to go, there was a three-way tie at the top. Fleetwood drops out with a bogey on the 16th, very untimely, and Rory makes a birdie on the 17th that puts him first alone with -19. Great shot and a meter and a half putt. Shortly before, Tommy had made the birdie from nine meters to keep dreaming, although everything was in McIlroy’s hands and his one-stroke lead.
But no. Rory closes the ball from the tee on the 18th and ends up in the water. It couldn’t be any other way. Fifth ball in the water of the week. Par was enough for him, but often it seems that McIlroy doesn’t like easy things. Again, the door open to Fleetwood, and even to Lawrence, who is licking his lips in the clubhouse. Rory hits a good shot from the rough after dropping, but leaves a long par putt that he doesn’t hole. Meanwhile, Fleetwood plays a textbook hole. He puts it in the street, hits a great second shot and makes the putt from almost five meters.
Fleetwood wins. McIlroy laughs. The two fist bump and leave the green arm in arm. Thank you for this spectacle. And it’s only the first tournament of the year…
As for the Spaniards, Pablo Larrazábal (-7) and Adrián Otaegui (-7) were the best placed in the twentieth position. Great final round of Larrazábal with 67 strokes, solid week of Otaegui with four rounds under par and good finish also for Nacho Elvira (-4), with a card of 68 strokes, top 30. Further back finished Jorge Campillo (-1), 70 strokes today, and Adri Arnaus (+5), 73 strokes this Sunday.
