Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry Fumble Dubai Invitational Win with Final-Hole Misfortunes

The year in golf almost began with a Shane Lowry or Rory McIlroy victory.

Instead, however, it was Nacho Elvira hoisting the trophy at the DP World Tour’s Dubai Invitational.

And the 38-year-old Spaniard’s triumph was aided by some late stumbles from the two Irishmen.

On the closing par-4, Lowry held the lead by a stroke, and things looked good when he striped his drive in the fairway. But then, disaster struck. The 2019 British Open winner placed his 149-yard approach into the greenside bunker and then hit his attempt from the sand over the green and into the water. He would sign for a double bogey, dropping him into a tie for third place.

A group behind, Elvira made a 7-foot birdie putt, sending him to the top of the leaderboard. A few holes prior, few would have predicted that he still had a chance at the victory. He splashed his second shot on No. 10 and on the next hole had a funky stance on the lip of a fairway bunker, but saved par.

Lowry tappade ledningen efter en rejäl groda på sista hålet 🫣

I stället fick Nacho Elvira fira säsongspremiären med familjen 🏆🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/UKLVJMLtDf
— Viaplay Golf (@ViaplayGolfSE) January 18, 2026

McIlroy, meanwhile, had the tournament slipping away from him after bogeys on Nos. 4 and 7, but got himself back in contention with five straight birdies on Nos. 9 through 13. He nearly added another on No. 14, but his 30-foot putt stopped one roll short of the cup. Still, he was co-leading with five left to play.

On his 72nd hole, McIlroy was one back of Lowry, tied with Elvira and Daniel Hiller, who would ultimately finish solo second. However, McIlroy’s tee shot went into the trees and he placed his second shot into the greenside bunker. He had a chance at par with a 15-footer, but missed the putt. The bogey dropped him to T3, as a birdie would have gotten him into a playoff.

Every shot of Nacho Elvira's final two holes 🎥#DubaiInvitational pic.twitter.com/AVD1H6Zy7C
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 18, 2026

The five-time major winner wasn’t kicking himself over his late-round stumbles, though.

“I wasn’t really focused on winning the tournament,” he said. “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.

“Overall, it was a good first week back. I felt like I learned a lot of stuff about my game. I wasn't very sharp, but hopefully I’m a little bit sharper going into next week than I was going into this week, I guess.”

And that paved the way for Elvira’s first win since the 2024 Soudal Open.

“This is a dream come true, to have my wife and my kids here,” he said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of a lot of times, and I cannot believe this happened.”