Rory McIlroy edges past Patrick Reed to win 2023 Dubai Desert Classic

Rory McIlroy won the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The golfer played an enthralling final round and came out on top against rival Patrick Reed to claim a dramatic victory at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

The World No. 1 clinched the Rolex Series event and started his 2023 schedule with a win. The Irish golfer rolled in a birdie putt from around 15 feet at No. 18 to finish at 4-under 68. The final shot saw him go one stroke clear of Reed, who shot 65.

McIlroy bagged the $1,530,000 prize money that comes along with the Dubai Desert Classic win. Apart from this, the Irish golfer also gets approximately 25.9 Official World Golf Ranking points, 1,335 DP World Tour points, and a two-plus season exemption on the European Tour. The win will be tastier for McIlroy as it comes amid a dispute with rival LIV Golf member Reed.

---

Rory McIlroy on winning the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic

Rory McIlroy came out on top in a tense Monday duel with Patrick Reed. The PGA Tour star overcame a final-round charge from his rival to clinch the Dubai Desert Classic. Addressing this, the golfer said that he managed to ‘play really smart’ for the win.

Speaking after capturing the Dubai Desert Classic title for the third time in Dubai, Rory McIlroy said:

"It was a battle all day. Honestly, it has been a battle all week. I really feel like I haven't had my best all week but I managed my game and played really smart… I managed my game well, lots of room for improvements... Mentally, today, it was probably one of the toughest rounds I've ever had to play because it would have been really easy to let your emotions get in the way.”

The Irishman further stated that he was going to enjoy the win.

He said:

"I'm going to enjoy this. This is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be... A really good foundation for the year."

---

2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic final leaderboard

• 1: Rory McIlroy
• 2: Patrick Reed
• 3: Lucas Herbert
• 4: Callum Shinkwin
• 5: Julien Brun
• T6: Ian Poulter
• T6: Thomas Pieters
• T8: Angel Hidalgo
• T8: Henrik Stenson
• T8: Johannes Veerman
• T8: Marcus Kinhult
• T8: Richard Bland
• T13: Adri Arnaus
• T13: Min Woo Lee
• T13: Calum Hill
• T16: Romain Langasque
• T16: Thorbjørn Olesen
• T16: Alexander Björk
• T16: Matt Wallace
• T20: Jazz Janewattananond
• T20: Matthew Jordan
• T20: Jordan Smith
• T20: Rasmus Højgaard
• T20: Ashun Wu
• T20: Bernd Wiesberger
• T20: Michael Thorbjornsen (a)
• T20: Ryan Fox
• T28: Victor Perez
• T28: Dan Bradbury
• T28: Jens Dantorp
• T28: Jorge Campillo
• T28: Adrian Otaegui
• T28: Jeunghun Wang
• T28: Marcus Armitage
• T28: Ewen Ferguson
• T28: Jacques Kruyswijk
• T28: Pablo Larrazabal
• T38: Tyrrell Hatton
• T38: Justin Walters
• T38: Hennie Du Plessis
• T38: Jamie Donaldson
• T38: Fabrizio Zanotti
• T38: Daniel Gavins
• T38: Connor Syme
• T38: Kalle Samooja
• T38: Nicolai Højgaard
• T38: Robert MacIntyre
• T38: Maximilian Kieffer
• T38: Andrew Johnston
• T38: Chase Hanna
• T51: Niklas Norgaard
• T51: Marcus Helligkilde
• T51: Lee Westwood
• T51: Richard Mansell
• T51: Oliver Bekker
• T51: Louis de Jager
• T51: Grant Forrest
• T51: Joost Luiten
• T59: Jason Scrivener
• T59: Tommy Fleetwood
• T59: David Law
• T59: John Catlin
• T59: Sam Horsfield
• T59: Justin Harding
• T65: Shaun Norris
• T65: Miguel Ángel Jiménez
• T65: Julien Guerrier
• T65: Matthew Southgate
• T65: Paul Waring
• T70: Scott Jamieson
• T70: Mikael Lindberg
• T70: Yannik Paul
• T70: Lukas Nemecz
• T70: Ludvig Aberg (a)
• T75: Marcel Schneider
• T75: Nicolai von Dellingshausen
• T75: Andy Sullivan
• T78: Nathan Kimsey
• T78: Antoine Rozner
• T78: Dale Whitnell
• 81: Daan Huizing
• 82: Tapio Pulkkanen