The DP World Tour were rewarded by deciding to make the Hero Dubai Desert Classic a Monday finish with a thrilling finale.
After disruptions due to heavy rain, the organisers could have opted to reduce the event to 54 holes.
But that would have meant missing out on a very exciting duel between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
At the start of the week, all the attention was on McIlroy and Reed after what has been dubbed ‘TeeGate’ after the Northern Irishman blanked Reed on the range and the American responded by throwing a LIV golf tee in his direction.
McIlroy revealed that Reed’s lawyer had issued him with a subpoena on Christmas Eve when he was at home with his family.
That must leave a bitter taste and you can understand why he reacted the way he did.
He will have been trying so hard to beat the American. You could see the emotion when he holed the winning putt.
McIlroy thrives on a wee bit of confrontation. He doesn’t mince his words. He didn’t hold back in his press conference about Reed before the event.
He also said there was “no way” his friendship with Sergio Garcia can be rekindled. He can be very outspoken but when he says these things it doesn’t seem to affect his golf game.
He is rightfully number one in the world. He and Jon Rahm are the two players to watch at the moment.
The win for McIlroy shows he is trending in the right direction for the Masters. Rahm and Reed will also be feeling confident after their starts to the year. Augusta is only a couple of months away so they will hope to keep that going in the next few weeks.
McIlroy seems to be putting well which bodes well for Augusta.
Love or hate Patrick Reed – you want to watch him.
There is often a bit of drama and we got some last week when Reed identified a ball as his own that was lodged in the wrong tree at the 17th hole.
He also seems to play better when there is a bit of controversy in the air.
That would bother a lot of golfers if they were caught up in something like that but he doesn’t seem to care. He actually plays better. It is amazing what motivates people.
I’m sure that final round would have been great viewing for any neutrals.
A great start to the year. On to the next one… pic.twitter.com/sEzeKMFxaT
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) January 30, 2023
There were several LIV golfers in the field and it definitely added a different feel to the event.
Reed had his LIV hat and T-shirt on. Is it bad etiquette to do that at a DP World Tour event?
Henrik Stenson, who gave up the European Ryder Cup captaincy to join LIV, was paired with his successor Luke Donald in one of the rounds but there would have been no bother in that group.
In a way, Luke has Henrik to thank for landing the Ryder Cup captaincy and Henrik knew what he was giving up when he joined LIV.
They are still good friends and while the media may have suggested it could have been awkward I don’t think that would have been the case at all.
A promising start for fit-again Hill
It was great to see Calum Hill perform well as he has endured a torrid time after an insect bite led to a nerve problem. I spoke to him and he is delighted to be back after a full year out.
It is tough to come back from a long absence but he is very level-headed and a hard grafter.
He is also a really good player. He is in the winners’ category for the year so he will get all the Rolex Series events. He played really well at a tough track as it was an easy course to make bogeys as the rough was very thick.
He is a quality player and that weekend will have done him a lot of good. He deserves a good run after a tough period.
Homa capable of major win
Max Homa had another good week on the PGA Tour by winning the Farmers Insurance Open.
I could see him compete at the majors. He was mic’d up for one of the rounds and I enjoyed listening to him.
It was interesting to hear his thoughts on what he was trying to do. That is good content for fans. He is a very solid player and he has won a few times. He could take that next step.
He is a gutsy player and I enjoy watching him.
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