{"id":505078,"date":"2023-01-30T11:54:05","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T11:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/rory-mcilroy-holds-off-rival-patrick-reed-with-birdie-on-18-to-seal-dubai-win\/"},"modified":"2024-09-23T07:24:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T07:24:57","slug":"hero-dubai-desert-classic-2023-r4-rory-mcilroy-holds-off-rival-patrick-reed-with-birdie-on-18-to-seal-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/hero-dubai-desert-classic-2023-r4-rory-mcilroy-holds-off-rival-patrick-reed-with-birdie-on-18-to-seal-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Rory McIlroy holds off rival Patrick Reed with birdie on 18 to seal Dubai win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy held off a brilliant challenge from Patrick Reed to win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for a third time in dramatic circumstances.<\/p>\n

McIlroy birdied the final two holes at Emirates Golf Club to card a closing 68 and finish 19 under par, a shot ahead of Reed in a first Monday finish in the tournament\u2019s history which proved well worth the wait.<\/p>\n

Playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, Reed had also birdied the 18th to complete a superb 65 and set the clubhouse target, but McIlroy was not to be denied a hard-fought win and holed from 15 feet on the last to cement his status as world number one.<\/p>\n

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Never in doubt 🙌@McIlroyRory<\/a> claims his first Rolex Series victory.#HeroDDC<\/a> | #RolexSeries<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GVylbKzHVD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

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\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d McIlroy said.<\/a> \u201cIt was a battle all day, it\u2019s been a battle all week. I really feel I haven\u2019t had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust ecstatic that I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and there\u2019s tonnes of room for improvement but it\u2019s a great start to the year.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy and Reed had begun the week embroiled in a war of words after Reed threw a tee towards McIlroy after being snubbed by him on the practice range.<\/p>\n

McIlroy said he had not seen the tee but had not been impressed at being subpoenaed on Christmas Eve by the lawyer who is representing Reed in a defamation lawsuit against several media members and organisations, although McIlroy\u2019s subpoena relates to a separate suit filed by Larry Klayman.<\/p>\n

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\"McIlroy
McIlroy held off the challenge of Reed (AP Photo\/Kamran Jebreili)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cMentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I\u2019ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just really had to concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really, really well,\u201d McIlroy added on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n

Reed began the day four shots off the lead but birdied the second and third before holing out from a greenside bunker on the sixth to close the gap to a single shot.<\/p>\n

McIlroy followed eight straight pars with a much-needed birdie on the ninth to briefly double his lead, only for Reed to then almost hole his second shot to the par-five 10th for an albatross.<\/p>\n

The tap-in eagle took Reed into a share of the lead and, although McIlroy two-putted the same hole for birdie, Reed also birdied the 11th to get back on level terms.<\/p>\n

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Patrick Reed ties the lead with an eagle at the 10th.#HeroDDC<\/a> | #RolexSeries<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ijkeaIIrD1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

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Reed\u2019s fifth birdie of the day on the par-five 13th edged him into the outright lead for the first time, but, in echoes of their epic singles clash in the 2016 Ryder Cup, McIlroy responded with a superb approach to the same hole and tapped in for a birdie after narrowly missing from 18 feet for eagle.<\/p>\n