Since 2009, Rory McIlroy has always managed to get great results at the Dubai Desert Classic. His worst performance came in the 2011 edition of the event, where he finished in a tie for 10th place. He had also never scored a 2-under par or worse in the tournament. However, all that changed this year at the Emirates Golf Club.

As reported by Sky Sports, it was “A week to forget in the desert for McIlroy ❌,” as he registered his worst ever result since 2008.

McIlroy ended the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic with a 2-under par. He finished the tournament at T33 as he watched Patrick Reed lift the title. The Irishman struggled throughout the tournament, especially with his approach shots. He was unable to find the greens in regulation consistently.

Despite a decent first round, his confidence took a major hit when he scored a double bogey on the 18th to end the day. That pushed his score back from a possible 2-under to 1-over on Thursday evening. He tried to fight back on Friday as he posted a 3-under par 69. Even his 1-under 71 in the penultimate round was enough to push him into the top-20 of the leaderboard. All McIlroy needed was to maintain his form from the second round to secure another top-10 finish in the tournament.

However, he went back to his performance from Thursday and shot a 1-over par 73 instead. That pushed him down to T33 on the leaderboard and confirmed one of his worst-ever finishes in the tournament.

The last time McIlroy managed a worse performance than this was in 2008. While his idol, Tiger Woods, won the event, the Irishman’s dream ended early as he missed the cut after a horrible second round. He registered a score of 2-over par and finished at T71 to crash out of the event.

Despite that, there are a few positives for McIlroy as he kicks off the 2026 season.

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All is not lost for Rory McIlroy

Despite a horrid performance at the Emirates Golf Club, Rory McIlroy will still have a few positives to take from his trip to Dubai. The Hero Dubai Desert Classic wasn’t the first event he played this season. He kicked off the year with the Dubai Invitational, which saw him finish at T3. Having come close to winning a title to start the year, the Irishman wasn’t too disappointed with his performance.

He said, “I wasn’t really focused on winning the tournament. I was just trying to piece it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part. Would have been nice to hit the fairway at the last to give myself a chance for birdie there.”

In other news, it seems like Patrick Reed is trying to settle their differences.

Recalling the ‘tee-gate’ controversy, the LIV Golf pro expressed, “It was hilarious. I guess I need to grab a handful (of tees) and break the ice. Go up to him like that, and maybe he needs to throw one at me.”

Having won the the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Reed will now be in a great position to strike up a conversation with McIlroy, who has himself won the event on four occasions.