“Winning means a lot.”

Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) won the DP World Tour Hero Dubai Desert Classic (total prize money of 9 million dollars) held at Dubai Emirates Golf Club (par 72) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 30th (Korean time).

This is her 15th win on the DP World Tour and her first win in the Rolex Series. He also laid the groundwork for him to maintain his world number one ranking. After winning, he reflected, “It was a battle all day. To be honest, it was a battle all week. I don’t think I did my best during the week, but I played smartly and well.”

Just by hearing the words of the championship, you can feel how difficult it must have been for McIlroy in many ways while participating in this competition. The tournament was also postponed for a day due to bad weather, and there was a scuffle with Patrick Reed (USA) before the tournament. Ahead of the Ryder Cup, as a member of the European team, he is betting his confidence on the DP World Tour, and LIV golf players such as Reed and Ian Poulter (England) are participating and they must have been concerned the whole time.

In this tournament, there was also an eye to see the battle of nerves between McIlroy and Reed as a fight between the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour and LIV Golf. Before the competition, Reed visited McIlroy practicing and said hello, but McIlroy did not accept it. 

Reed then threw a wooden tee with the LIV Golf Aces logo on it at McIlroy. Afterwards, they met by chance at a hotel and had a conversation, but the local media covered it loud enough to describe it as a ‘T-gate’.

Even in the third round, there were high expectations that McIlroy, who was the sole leader by three strokes, would win without a big change. But when I opened the lid, it was different. McIlroy continued par, unable to reduce a stroke during holes 1 to 8 in the first half, and in the meantime, Reed caught 3 birdies and immediately followed with a joint lead. 

The gap, which was three strokes, was tied for the lead, or a fight continued to be pursued by one stroke. McIlroy played by checking the lead in the front group. Being in a position to be chased, the pressure is bound to increase.

But number 1 in the world is number 1. He played the game calmly. When Reed caught a birdie on the 13th hole (par 5), McIlroy also went aggressive. He succeeded in two-on and attempted an eagle. The putt stopped in front of the hole and finished with a birdie, but it was an eagle attempt putt that would have been chilling if Reed saw it. 토토사이트

McIlroy missed a par putt in the 15th hole (par 3) and fell to second place by a stroke, but took the win by catching consecutive birdies in the 17th and 18th holes. The hole that made him sweat is the 18th hole (par 5).

On the 18th hole, McIlroy tried a tee shot with a driver, but it went further than the last three rounds. McIlroy’s tee shot stopped right in front of the hazard in the 18th hole, which was a hole with a water hazard on the left dogleg and a water hazard on the right. 

McIlroy, who was barely looking at the ball hanging in the rough, faced another crisis. The second shot he tried on the 18th hole in the third round the day before fell into the water hazard in front of the green. I missed it last year too. Reed was waiting after catching a birdie. A situation where McIlroy was under more pressure than ever.

McIlroy did not forcefully attack the two-on. After cutting off with a three-on attack, he hit the green well with his third shot and finished with a birdie to defeat Reed’s pursuit.

After the game, he said, “I’m glad my tee shot didn’t fall into the water hazard. It was a very awkward shot for me. The driver was big and the 3-wood seemed to lack distance. It was an easy shot, but the day was too hot,” he said. “Last year, twice yesterday, I fell into the water. I won’t be fooled three times. I can play with high probability and achieve results, “he explained the situation on the 18th hole.

He continued, “I think I showed my mental strength today, and I showed something that I need to build up this year. I will enjoy it. But I feel like I still have more to prepare, but it’s a good start to the year.”