Colin Montgomerie described him as ‘a superstar in the making’, multiple Major winner Mark O’Meara has said that his ball-striking is better than Tiger Woods at the same age and Rory McIlroy showed why he has been heaped with such praise with his maiden win at the last event of the European Tour’s Gulf swing.
This victory meant that at 19 years old not only did he become one of the youngest winners ever on the European Tour but he has joined a select group of past winners of the Dubai Desert Classic which include the likes of Henrik Stenson, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie, Fred Couples and Seve Ballesteros.
For 3 rounds it all looked too easy for McIlroy. Rounds of 64, 68, 67 saw him take a 2 shot lead into the final round. His length of the tee was second only to his pin-point distance control at he attacked the pins repeatedly to take the lead from the first round and never relinquish it.
Eight birdies in the first 13 holes and it looked like it was going to be a cake-walk for the young Northern Irishman as he extended his lead to 6 shot with 5 holes to play but a run of 3 bogies and some great play by Justin Rose saw the lead cut to only one stroke coming to the 18th.
Some feared a repetition of last year when McIlroy was unable to close out a winning position when laid up too close to the green and then badly misjudged his partial wedge shot. His approach flew to green to leave himself a nasty bunker shot back towards the water. He showed his true colors as he splashed the ball to tap-in distance and with Rose’s birdie putt just squeaking past the hole, the simple putt took the victory.
With this win McIlroy moves up to 16th in the World with this victory, a huge achievement for someone who turned pro only a year and a half ago.This can only be the first of many victories.
