Rory McIlroy holds court
The world number one looked very much in control inside the ropes of the Emirates Club course, holing out for par at the last in a round of 70 to comfortably win by three shots.
In the process, he equalled the tournament record of 22-under par and ended a run of three second-place finishes.
And when asked if his thoughts now turn to matters set to grab the front pages rather than sports headlines, McIlroy smiled in remarking: “Let me enjoy this win for an hour or two first.”
The victory is McIlroy’s 10th European Tour success and his 16th win worldwide and despite obvious distractions back home, the four-time major winner will head to the States an even hotter favourite to capture the season’s first major in just over two months time at Augusta National.
“It is just a matter of keeping my golf ticking over as I have done a lot of good work these past few weeks here in the Middle East. I now have three off, but then I guess I don’t want to have three weeks off hitting balls, so I will have at least a good week of preparation prior to the Honda Classic,” he said.
“But then it is going to be nice getting back to the States and back into my own house, and get back into a routine of practice and stuff over there.
“Of course the Masters is still a couple of months away so I would like to keep the run going. And there is no reason why I shouldn’t, so it will be a matter of keeping on top of things and not getting complacent.”
When McIlroy does tee-up on the PGA Tour for the first time this year, at an event where he lost out in a play-off last year, he will send a strong message to all his rivals.
“The message is that I come to tournaments to win every week. And while it’s not like me to be sending out messages to people, I guess if they are going to beat me, they are going to have to play well,” he said.
“I feel I am in a place now with my game that if I turn up with a game I know that I have, that I’ll have a decent chance and at least try to get myself into contention.”
While McIlroy touches down this morning in wintery Dublin, Graeme McDowell will arrive in steamy Kuala Lumpur for this week’s Maybank Malaysian Open.
McDowell intends making a Dubai start to his 2016 season too, after he shared ninth place with a final round 70 for a 14-under par tally.
“Given this is my first week out, I am very pleased to play the way I did, especially the first two rounds. It’s just that the weekend was disappointing in not getting anything done,” he said.
“Despite a double at 16, there are a lot of positives to take now to Malaysia.
“So I am pretty sure that this is where I will be starting my year again, next year.”
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