Rory McIlroy Wins 4th Dubai Desert Classic

Rory McIlroy spoke to the media after winning his 4th Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.

You know I was saying in an interview earlier that my The Arc of my career and um and Dubai in general have sort of like tracked each other pretty consistently along the way um I remember my first Desert Classic in ’06 uh as an Amer stand what seemed like

Out in the desert um at this point uh and it’s probably like only 10 minutes away know I’ve it’s so built up but uh just to think like 18 years ago and and what it meant to come here and play in this event uh to be sitting here you

Know having one at four times and you know all the great experiences that I’ve had in Dubai and the friends that I’ve met and the um you know you know everything sort of along the way it it it’s always been a place where I come back to and reminisce about my career

Because I really feel like it’s where everything started um so it’s it’s amazing to sit here and um you know the first Desert Classic I I took a media credential and I walked inside the ropes to follow tiger and Ernie and Thomas Bjorn I think um and

Then just to think about the even the Arc of that um Thomas Bjorn was my writer Cup captain I ended up buying Arnie ell’s house I’ve become really good friends with Tiger Woods it’s like it’s it’s just amazing to think back on the last 18 years and sort of where I

Find myself so um I certainly don’t take anything for granted and I always appreciate the opportunity to be able to do what I do and um yeah feels amazing to sit here and um have have won the that big coffee pot four time yeah I think so I think

Um like AUST is still a long way away in in golfing terms um a lot can change in you know two and a half months um but it’s it’s always nice to get a win it’s always nice to feel like you’re playing well going into it I’ve always

Said that I’ll take execution over preparation every single time because you know you just you have to execute um the golf shots especially there uh but I think last year at Augusta I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about um you know I’ve told this story

Numerous times now about the first green on Friday and Brooks was on the eth green and I saw the big leaderboard and I was already 10 behind at that point I was 10 behind after 2 days this week and ended up winning the golf tournament so

You know there’s a there’s a massive I feel like I’ve taken that learning already and put it into practice a little bit already but um yeah that’s a that’s a huge thing for me but you know everything now is yeah you know I’ve still got some big events

To to come and um but you know I think from now until the that first or second week in April um you know at least a part of my mind is going to going to be um towards getting getting myself absolutely ready for for there I think

It would feel if the scores on the weekend had been flipped and I shot 70 63 I’d probably be like yeah that was amazing but the 70 today was I did what I needed to do I felt like I played a very controlled run to golf

Um the two birdies on 8 and N were huge to sort of give me that cushion going into the back nine um but yeah the golf course definitely played a little trickier at the weekend uh it was hard to get the ball very close because of how firm the greens were

And you know I I I thought even after I finished on Friday I thought if I shot two 67s over the weekend I would have a decent chance to win uh and if if that had have been the case I would have tied Adrian at 13 under so I wasn’t too far

Away with the prediction and thankfully I went one better than that and ended up winning the tournament yeah it’s um this is her F this is her first time in Dubai in nine years I think so um yeah I think they’ve had a great time they they also

Love coming to Dubai and love spending time here so uh you know we’ve got four three three of those um pictures on the 18th screen they they weren’t here for the win last year but it’s pretty cool I mean 2009 to now and those you know the

15 years that have passed and and everything that’s happened it’s uh it’s still it’s still incredibly uh cool to be able to do those things with them no I mean I I like looking back and having a highlight reel on the last day I’d rather you know as I said if you

Flip the scores and I had the 70 yesterday and the 63 today I’d probably be sitting here maybe a little more um not upbeat obviously I won the golf tournament I’m extremely happy but um yeah I guess it is there’s there’s a lot of different ways to win and I think

I’ve you looking back at um the wins that I’ve had I’ve done it a a few different ways and some have been dramatic some have been not not so much and and today was one of those days where I think I I started so well and I

Played that front line so well that um I didn’t really have to do anything that special on the back line just to to get it home and and and get the get the thing W you know the kind of stories that you share with us you know historical Etc what you just shared

About the first time that you came to Dubai when tiger was there was how much does history and Legacy I mean in golf in general mean to you everything I think it’s the only way to to be able to compare yourself to the the people that you grew up idolizing so

I you know I grew up not NE you know my hero was Tiger Woods I wanted to do what tiger did and I’ll probably I’ll not have the career that he’s had but you know I still look at the trophies that I’ve won and and my name is on

Those same trophies that that his are on as well which is I mean that’s I don’t I don’t know a better way of of quantifying success in the game as as putting your name on the trophies that the people before you have put their names on so you know whether it be

This trophy or you know major championship trophies or whatever it is like you know I sat up here on Wednesday and talked about like Global Golf and something like the Australian Open and looking at the ston Haven cup and and you know mys on there with Peter

Thompson and you know all the all the legends of the game and um I think it’s just a very it’s a very cool thing you know hopefully Michael thorbjornson has just won this the second time as a as an amateur here hopefully in 15 or 20 years

Time he’s looking back and looking at the trophies that my name is on you know like that I think just being able to to go from one generation to the next I don’t think there’s a I don’t know if there’s any other sport that you can do it as as much as

May maybe in tennis a little bit but I just think that the generations span so long in golf that you know I’ve I’ve played in a US Open with Tom Watson but I’ve also played in a US Open with um Rasmus hogart who’s 60 years younger

Than than Tom Watson so I think just the the generations and the length of time that you can be a pro and you can have success in golf I think it just it’s amazing to think about the journey and think about the the players that you’ve

Played with and um you know at the start of my career and then the players that I’m playing with now and just the the length of time that all of those careers have span