Rory McIlroy hits a birdie on the 18th to hold off Reed to win the Dubai Desert Classic | Rory McIlroy

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From Teegate to Treegate to a finale well worth the wait. The Dubai Desert Classic’s most unusual week wrapped up in quite fitting fashion on Monday. For Rory McIlroy, his third Desert Classic title and victory on his first start of 2023. The world No. 1 cemented his position.

Even at this early stage, it seems impossible to ignore the sense that McIlroy will arrive at Augusta National in April with his best chance yet of winning the Masters and thus completing the Grand Slam.

However, Magnolia Lane could wait. It was this tournament that began with a bang, in which McIlroy and Patrick Reed participated. The match concluded with the same pair vying for the trophy. When McIlroy’s role was taken on as the unofficial voice of the golf establishment against the recalcitrant LIV tour, of which Reed is a part, it became easy to feel that this meant more than just a trophy.

“Did you want to win, yeah,” said McIlroy. “Was there an extra incentive because of who was there? Not at all. But I want to win for me. I want to win for my legacy and make my mark on the game. So it’s great that there’s an added benefit for me to win instead of someone else.

“Mentally speaking, it was very difficult today. I felt like I could have let my emotions get in the way. I spent a lot of mental energy trying to focus on myself and focus on scoring and trying to hit a number.”

Reed drew attention to whether he had correctly located his ball in the branches of a palm tree during the third round. If Reed had raped McIlroy, we would have heard a lot more about it. Instead, McIlroy publicly defended him. “I felt he was fine. How about Vinnie is a really experienced referee and he won’t make a mistake.

“If it had been anyone else in the field, that wouldn’t have been a problem, but because of certain things in the past, people have brought up some things, which in some ways are probably unfair. I’ve stood up and defended Patrick in some of the controversies.”

Reed is aware of the social media slandered court, but insists he did nothing wrong on Sunday the 17th. “I looked through binoculars, identified which golf ball and explained what my scores were on the official rules,” said the 2018 Masters champion. “He looked at it and defined it the same way I knew it.”

For much of the final round, McIlroy struggled. Reid was inspired, walking to a one-shot lead—he had started three times adrift—after McIlroy missed the 15th. Reed’s first putt of the day, at 16, restored par before McIlroy landed what looked like the grand putt with a birdie on the penultimate hole.

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What happened next allowed McIlroy to snatch glory from the jaws of disaster. Last year, the 72nd hole of the Desert Classic cost McIlroy victory. As his drive headed towards the pond, another heartbreaking finale looked on the cards. McIlroy’s ball stopped on the water, but in a treacherous lie that he could only drive it 100 yards on the fifth.

Reid’s birdie in the group immediately ahead of him means McIlroy needs to match those four to avoid a playoff. The 33-year-old jumped with wild joy after his 15-foot curling putt found the bottom of a cup. Reid’s 65 and 18-under total were beaten by McIlroy’s 68-for-minus-19.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful to anyone else who has played this week,” McIlroy said when asked what percentage he felt he was playing. “I could be so much better. The most satisfying thing is not having my best, far from it, and being able to win when you don’t have your best, that’s the holy grail of what we’re trying to do.”

Third place belongs to Lucas Herbert at the age of 16 under. The wicket of Ian Poulter at number six affected given that he had taken seven at the last. Henrik Stenson charged across the field with a score of 64 to tie eighth. With Poulter, Stinson, Reid and the LIV squad heading to this week’s event in Saudi Arabia, McIlroy was the Dubai darling once again. Somehow the shredded world of golf felt in a much better place.

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