As the new season of golf rolled on, plenty of eyes were drawn to the Middle East as Rory McIlroy chased down his first title. The North Irish golfer participating in the inaugural Dubai Invitational was leading the event until the last hole where he suffered a major heartbreak.
The 34-year-old decided to open his season in Dubai and skipped The Sentry tournament. As he continued his stay in Dubai, he had a moment to forget as he slipped on the final hole of the event to lose the tournament by one stroke to Tommy Fleetwood.
The current World No. 2 went into the 14th hole tied with Fleetwood. In dramatic circumstances, he would miss two putts that saw the lead change hands. McIlroy was able to bounce back from this disappointment with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes.
Unfortunately for him, this is where his luck ran out. He would hit his tee shot into the water on the final hole of the tournament. This opened the door for Fleetwood who chased him down and grabbed home the title.
Check out the video of McIlroy’s shot going off the tracks and into the water from a post on Reddit below:
Following this slip-up, the four-time major champion praised Fleetwood for his performance and claimed he needed to win a title after not winning one in 2023.
I'm really happy for Tommy. He's played some incredible golf over the last year without actually getting a win. For him to get the win here, it's great for him and it will do his confidence and world of good, and hopefully, he kicks on from it.Rory McIlroy on Tommy Fleetwood as per WWOS.
Reddit reacts to Rory McIlroy’s shocking collapse during Dubai Invitational
The start of the Dubai Invitational saw Rory McIlroy dominate the early proceedings. After his impressive round two performance, he would send a clear warning message to his PGA Tour rivals, that this was perhaps his year.
Unfortunately, things took a nasty turn for him as he collapsed during the final hole. A tee shot in the water cost him his first win of the 2024 season.
Many on social media though especially Reddit were unsympathetic to him. They would once again troll him and label his performance as “The Classic McIlroy choke“. Check out some reactions from this development on X below:
McIlroy will now be hoping to put this behind him and concentrate on the upcoming events. He will now try his hand at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic next weekend as he misses his third consecutive event of the PGA Tour season opener in the form of the American Express Championship.
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