Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
Rory McIlroy produced an exceptional week of golf to reign supreme at the Dubai Desert Classic, sealing victory by three shots with a total of 22 under par, and the European Tour's official Twitter was first to congratulate the 25-year-old:
The Northern Irishman held his first ever professional trophy aloft at this event in 2009, and appeared at home at the Emirates Golf Club six years on.
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Here’s a look at the final leaderboard from a blockbuster tournament in the Middle East:
| Position | Golfer | To Par | Sunday's Round |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -22 | 70 |
| 2 | Alex Noren | -19 | 65 |
| 3 | Stephen Gallacher | -16 | 69 |
| T4 | Martin Kaymer | -15 | 64 |
| T4 | Gary Stal | -15 | 68 |
| T4 | Brendt Wiesberger | -15 | 70 |
| T4 | Andy Sullivan | -15 | 70 |
| T4 | Morten Madsen | -15 | 73 |
| T9 | Thomas Aiken | -14 | 69 |
| T9 | Graeme McDowell | -14 | 70 |
| T9 | Robert Rock | -14 | 70 |
| T9 | Lee Westwood | -14 | 72 |
Day 4 Recap
McIlroy began the day on 20 under par after three remarkable days in which he’d posted just one bogey, and he continued in a similar vein by carding a birdie on the third.
The 25-year-old birdied the par-5 hole in every single round at the tournament, but four holes later, he found himself in a spot of bother.
An errant tee shot on the 186-yard par-three seventh saw a blemish appear on McIlroy’s card for the first time in 52 holes—per European Tour—and he was suddenly looking over his shoulder:
In reality, though, he was never going to be caught, and when he rolled in birdies on the 10th and 13th holes, it seemed the title was his.
McIlroy shot level par from there, in a round whereby he did all that he needed to do—just keep the ball in play.
Sweden’s Alex Noren put up a brave fight with a seven-under-par 65 to finish on 19 under, while two-time winner Stephen Gallacher came third three shots behind Noren with a final round of 69.
The Scot was striking the ball beautifully on the final day, and were his putter a little hotter, he could have given McIlroy a run for his money.
However, one hole he didn’t need the flat stick for was the par-three 11th, going agonisingly close to a hole in one before tapping in for one of his five birdies of the day—as European Tour’s video shows:
Elsewhere, Martin Kaymer put together the round of the day, carding an exceptional eight-under-par 64 to fire himself into a tie for fourth. The German produced eight birdies without a single blemish to finish on 15 under, and were it not for a blip on Day 3, would have been fighting for the title.
However, the day belonged to McIlroy, who, in the midst of an intense legal battle, showed his thick skin with a dynamic display. He’s also put himself into the history books with a record-equalling haul, as Dubai Desert Classic revealed:
When McIlroy is in this kind of form, with a fully focused mindset, he’s simply impossible to contest with.
That much is proved by his recent statistics, as the Northern Irishman has been in the top two of each of the last seven European Tour events that he’s played—per Sky Sports:
It’s the kind of form that Tiger Woods showed during his dominant period, but McIlroy looks even more prepared to set the world alight than the American.
Currently holding two of the four majors, a grand slam is very much on the cards this year, and if he takes his Dubai form around the world, then it’s almost elementary.
Day 3 Recap
McIlroy stretched his lead to four strokes heading into the final round of the 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He put together a third straight round in the 60s with a six-under 66 on Saturday to ensure he's the player to beat on Sunday.
Morten Orum Madsen made a charge up the leaderboard with a six-under round of his own to earn himself a spot in the last group. Westwood, Gallacher and Graeme McDowell are among the players inside the top 10, but they are all at least six strokes the leader.
Here's how the leaderboard shapes up after Round 3:
McIlroy looked like he was on his way toward a memorable round with five birdies on the front nine en route to a 30. He dialed it back on the back nine, however, not wanting to make any crucial mistakes that could change the tournament outlook.
The European Tour showcased the swing that's made him just about unstoppable this week:
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -20 |
| 2 | Morten Orum Madsen | -16 |
| 3 | Lee Westwood | -14 |
| T-4 | Andy Sullivan | -13 |
| T-4 | Stephen Gallacher | -13 |
| T-4 | Danny Willett | -13 |
| T-4 | Bernd Wiesberger | -13 |
| T-8 | 8 Players Tied | -12 |
Orum Madsen's strong round is the only reason the event hasn't turned into a total runaway. He had three birdies either side of the turn in a flawless round. It allowed him to make a pretty significant jump into third place.
Gallacher, who's the two-time defending champion in the tournament, also continues to lurk heading into the final round. He's seven strokes off the pace, so it would take a poor effort from McIlroy to keep him in title contention, but he does have experience of shooting low here before.
The event highlighted his solid play on Saturday:
Seve Benson didn't have as good of an afternoon as those players, but he might have had the shot of the day. The European Tour highlighted the long drive that came within a few feet:
Ultimately, it's going to take a drastic fall from McIlroy for anybody else to walk away with the title on Sunday. He's been playing such strong golf that it would be a huge surprise if he's not able to close it out.
There is a well-known group of chasers hoping he does falter, though. Along with those already mentioned above, Danny Willett and Robert Rock are also in the chase group. But for now, they are all watching the world's top-ranked golfer do what he does best.
Day 2 Recap
McIlroy lit up a sun-drenched Emirates Golf Club on Day 2 of the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing with three consecutive birdies to move one shot clear at the top of the leaderboard.
The finishing flourish was the coupe de grace on a wonderful for day for the World No.1 as he shot an eight-under par round of 64 to take his overall score to 14-under at the mid-point of the tournament.
Marc Wilson is one shot back on Rory after he shot 65 on the second day of the tournament, while Seve Benson and Graeme McDowell are a further two back on 13-under par. Here's how the race for the title is hotting up ahead of what promises to be an intriguing weekend of golf.
McIlroy started his round with a bang and finished with panache. The world No.1 set the tone for a strong day when he birdied three of the first five holes. By the time he was on the 16th tee, he was just one shot back on Warren.
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -14 | 64 |
| 2 | Marc Warren | -13 | 65 |
| T3 | Seve Benson | -12 | 66 |
| T3 | Graeme McDowell | -12 | 65 |
| T5 | Danny Willett | -11 | 66 |
| T5 | Bernd Wiesberger | -11 | 69 |
| T5 | Stephen Gallacher | -11 | 67 |
| T5 | Andy Sullivan | -11 | 68 |
| T5 | Lee Westwood | -11 | 68 |
But three successive birdies at 16,17 and 18 pushed the Northern Irishman into the outright lead. As we can see here courtesy of the European Tour twitter account, McIlroy has been tremendously consistent as of late:
Warren is within striking distance, though. The Scot also played with a serene confidence on Day 2 of the competition and encouragingly, he told Sky Sports that he feels as though there are still areas of his game in which he can improve:
"It was very good from the fairways but scrappier than I would have wanted off the tees.
In Abu Dhabi I drove the ball really well, I improved my iron play last week and I am giving myself lots of chances.
"
Trailing them is a strong British and Northern Irish contingent. Benson and McDowell both enjoyed prosperous days around the Maljis course and will be primed to pounce should the leaders slip up as the business end of the tournament approaches.
Andy Sullivan is another player worth keeping an eye on. The Englishman has been in exceptional form so far this year and is just three back on 11-under. He played alongside Rory and Martin Kaymer during the opening two days of the competition and as we can see, the three players looked as if they were spurring each other on:
Lee Westwood is level with Sullivan after another solid day. The Englishman has yet to hit a bogey in his opening two rounds, but will be disappointed not to have converted more opportunities on Day 2. If the putts begin to drop for him over the weekend, Westwood has a fair chance at sampling glory come Sunday.
Perhaps somewhat ominously for the rest of the field, two-time champion Gallacher also remains in contention. He's three down on McIlroy and as we can see, he was forced to battle hard to stay in the hunt:
If Rory continues to showcase the astonishing levels that were so prevalent on Day 2 then he's going to be a tough man to catch.
The four-time major winner relishes leading a tournament and if putts continue to drop for him—an area of his game which is much improved this weekend—there doesn't look to be any player in the field capable of living with the brilliant Northern Irishman.
Day 1 Recap
Bernd Wiesberger leads the way after Day 1 of the Dubai Desert Classic. He was in exceptional form, shooting an immaculate eight-under par round of 64 to take a one-shot lead into Day 2.
There are plenty of classy players chasing hard, though. Westwood, Andy Sullivan, Peter Uihlein and Nicolas Colsaerts are all just one shot back after scores of 65, while McIlroy and reigning champion Gallacher will be happy with starting rounds of 66.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the opening day at the Majlis Course and how the leaderboard is shaping up with three days of action to come.
Wiesberger enjoyed a marvellous run of five consecutive birdies between the 13th and 17th holes, shooting a stunning 31 on the back nine to surge to the pinnacle of the leaderboard.
That run made up the bulk of eight birdies on the day for the Austrian, who showcased some scintillating scoring in his first round, per the European Tour Twitter account:
| 1. | Wiesberger | Aut | 64 | -8 |
| T2. | Uilheiin | US | 65 | -7 |
| T2. | Colsaerts | Bel | 65 | -7 |
| T2. | Sullivan | Eng | 65 | -7 |
| T2. | Westwood | Eng | 65 | -7 |
| T6. | Benson | Eng | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | Gallacher | Sco | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | Kieffer | Ger | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | McIlroy | NI | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | Warren | Sco | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | Hansen | Den | 66 | -6 |
| T6. | Otto | SA | 66 | -6 |
Remarkably, it wasn’t the best finish of the day. That accolade belonged to Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo:
It’s clear that Wiesberger is in exceptional form at the moment, and after finishing in third place in Qatar last time out, he’ll be hoping to sample a third win on the European Tour by winning this coveted competition.
Consistency is undoubtedly the key factor for the 29-year-old, though. He’s showcased the ability to shoot low scores in bursts. Putting it together over the course of a week has often been his downfall in the high-profile events. That side of his game will be tested in earnest with some quality opposition chasing him on Day 2.
As noted by Golf Digest ME, there are a lot of top players looking in great form at the tournament:
It was a solid day for Rory, who hit seven birdies and one bogey in his round of 66. The four-time major winner looked to be in good order throughout the day, and his putting—a facet of his game that was a little erratic in Abu Dhabi—seemed to be in much better condition.
The Northern Irishman was happy with his opening-day efforts, per Sky Sports:
"I’d be disappointed if I didn’t shoot anything below 68 today, especially with the conditions, and 66 is a nice start.
I think par would be about the way I’m driving the ball, trying to take advantage of the par fives and there are a couple of shorter part fours that you have chances on as well.
"
Rory was driving the ball superbly on Day 1, as we can see here:
McIlroy’s only bogey of the day came on the ninth hole, his last of the day. Had he made par there, he would have joined a clutch of players on seven-under par, including Englishmen Sullivan and Westwood.
The former looked in particularly fine fettle, shooting five birdies and an eagle in what was a very solid round of golf:
There are some classy opponents trailing the leader, and with pressure likely to come from the likes of McIlroy, Westwood and Sullivan on Day 2 and over the course of the weekend, it will be intriguing to see just how well Wiesberger fares.
For neutrals, having so many top players in early contention bodes well for three more fascinating days of golf.
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