Rory McIlroy’s epic final round collapse has helped hand Tommy Fleetwood a one-stroke victory in the inaugural Dubai Invitational.
Fleetwood drained a 16 foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the tournament, keeping his composure all round to pick up his 7th title on the DP World Tour.
However, the story of the day was McIlroy, who more or less handed victory to Fleetwood on a silver platter with two costly un-Rory like blunders.
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With both players locked at 18 under on the 14th hole, McIlroy had a two-foot chance for birdie to go one shot up on Fleetwood.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, he would sensationally three putt to drop a shot.
McIlroy would hit back with birdies on 15 and 17, while Fleetwood would bogey 16, meaning the Northern Irishman had a one-stroke lead heading onto the final hole and in pole position to win the season-opening event of the DP World Tour.
The world number two created more drama when hitting his tee shot on the last into the water, opening the door right up for Fleetwood, who capitalised with a clutch putt to win his 10th professional title.
Fleetwood finished the tournament with a score of 19 under, while McIlroy’s birdie dropped him back to 18 under.
McIlroy didn’t appear too deterred with his final round collapse, instead praising his good mate Fleetwood for his win.
“I’m really happy for Tommy. He’s played some incredible golf over the last year without actually getting a win. So 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,” McIlroy said.
“I think the first week back out, I think you’re going to expect some of those sloppy mistakes, and unfortunately for me, those mistakes came at the wrong time today.
“But you know, I’ll reflect on it and learn from today, and there’s still a lot of good stuff in there.”
Fleetwood, who is based in Dubai, collected a cool $635,550 (AUD) for the win.
“It was amazing winning,” Fleetwood said.
“Like almost everybody else in the world of golf, I don’t win anywhere near as much as I would like to but just that winning feeling great.
“This is obviously where I live and have a lot of support. It’s great to kick off the year with a great result and push on from here.”