Shane Lowry lamented a last-hole “disaster” as his hopes of landing a first individual win since 2022 slipped out of his grasp in the Dubai Invitational, the opening event of the new calendar year on the DP World Tour.
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| Shane Lowry takes a penalty drop on the 18th hole on day four of the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort | Andrew Redington/Getty Images |
Victory at Dubai Creek went to Spaniard Nacho Elvira after Lowry, who held a one-shot lead on the 18th tee in the final round, signed off with a double-bogey 6 after going long with his approach then overcooking his escape from a bunker and finding the water.
“That was a disaster - that's what that was,” admitted Lowry, who deserved credit for talking to a small group of reporters when he was clearly hurting. “What can you do? You have to just learn from it and move on, lads.
“This game is nuts. I've just started my 18th season on tour and I'll never figure it out. I tried my best, did everything I could and hit the wrong club up the last. And that cost me a play-off.”
On a treacherous final hole, Lowry was just off the fairway with a peach of a drive only to then go long with his approach from 139 yards just as Elvira was holing a seven-footer for a birdie at the 17th to move level with him.
“I was just trying to hit a soft 9,” added Lowry. “If you hit a wedge at the flag and it comes out a little soft, it goes right into the water. In hindsight, I probably would have been better doing that because you get it up and down from there. But the bunker shot was shocking - it's not good enough.”
Lowry teamed up with McIlroy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024 and was also part of a winning team once again in the Ryder Cup in New York last year, when the former Open champion holed the putt on the 18th green in the singles to retain the trophy for Europe.
It stung, though, to miss out on what would have been a first solo success since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “I should be winning that,” he declared, having had to settle for a share of third place after a closing 69. “But I didn't and this is going to hurt for a day or two. I haven't won in a few years. It's hard to get over the line.
“I know this is not the biggest tournament in the world. But you've still got to beat Rory McIlroy down the stretch. I did that. I just gave it to Nacho at the end. It's a bit of a disaster and I'll lick my wounds and move on and get going for next week.”
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| Shane Lowry was left “licking my wonds” after a sore finish in the first DP World Tour event of 2026 | Andrew Redington/Getty Images |
McIlroy, who finished second behind Tommy Fleetwood in the event’s inaugural edition in 2024, had to settle for a share of third place on this occasion.
The Masters champion stormed into contention after making five birdies in a row - the burst equalled his career best, from the ninth and was half a roll away from making it six in a row as his putt at the par-3 14th came up agonisingly short.
Like Lowry, he found the bunker at the back of the 18th green and, as was the case two years earlier, finished with a disappointing bogey.
“Yeah, got it going in the middle of the round a little bit,” reflected the Masters champion. “Started hitting some good shots and making some putts. Yeah, it was a nice period of golf and that one at the par 3 could have gone in and kept it going.
“Yeah, this was always a week to just sort of get back at it and sort of get ready for next week I guess, more so than anything else. Saw some good signs, still didn't feel like I was very sharp out there for the most part, but felt like I was getting there as the week went on.”
It was the 16th time in 19 years in opening tournaments that McIlroy had started his year with a top-five finish. “Not bad is it,” he said. “Yeah, saw some decent signs out there, feel like I still need to sharpen up the game a little bit if I want to contend next week (in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic).
“I guess when you're in the mindset of just sort of, I guess, using rounds as, I don't want to say practise, because that sort of belittles what we're trying to do. But it's more you're preparing for the big part of the season, I guess, from April through to July. You're just really trying to see where your game's at and just trying to make little adjustments and tweaks here and there when you need to.”
McIlroy was speaking just before Lowry finished his round and, though it wasn’t to be on this occasion, he is confident that his good friend will be back in the winner’s enclosure before too long.
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| Rory McIlroy came close again in the Dubai Invitationalat Dubai Creek Resort | Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images |
“Yeah, I think the Ryder Cup was a huge moment for him,” he said. “We've talked about it a lot, we're not spring chickens anymore. Shane's 38, I'm 36, I'm going to be 37 this year, he's going to be 39. We're playing for those bigger moments in our careers - majors and Ryder Cups.
“Obviously, I think it would be important to him to just get a few more wins on the CV, but all the wins that he has had have been very, very big. He's had some huge moments in the game, and we spend so much time together and we talk about it. Just trying to create those big moments is the driving force for the rest of our careers, basically.”
Elvira, who closed with a 69 to win by a shot from Kiwi Daniel Hillier, landed his third DP World Tour triumph, jumping 72 spots to fourth in the Race to Dubai heading into the opening Rolex Series event of the season at Emirates Golf Club.
Ewen Ferguson and Grant Forrest shared the honour of leading Scot as they both finished on one under to share 20th spot while Connor Syme (three over) and Calum Hill (nine over) ended up 30th and joint-47th respectively.
- Martin Dempster
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