China’s Haotong Li defied the odds to hold off the challenge of Rory McIlroy and win his second European Tour title after a thrilling final day battle at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The 22 year old from Hunan entered the final day a shot clear of McIlroy, but trailed by two after ten holes as the four-time Major winner looked on track for a third victory at Emirates Golf Club and his 14th European Tour title.
Li then birdied four of his last six holes to sign for a closing 69 to beat the Northern Irishman by a single stroke, and record a record low total of 23 under par for this tournament, beating the 22 under par score set by Thomas Bjørn in 2001.
Li’s stunning finish further cemented his growing reputation as one of the European Tour’s top performers under pressure, following on from a closing 63 at last season’s Open Championship and a fourth-round 64 to win his maiden title at the 2016 Volvo China Open.
The win moves him alongside Ashun Wu as China’s most prominent winners on the European Tour, and he becomes the first Chinese player to break into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Further down the leaderboard, Tyrrell Hatton produced a closing 66 to finish at 20 under, a shot clear of Alexander Levy and three ahead of this month’s SA Open winner Chris Paisley.
Li, who picked up a first prize of just over €400,000, said: “Most of the time, I was only two or one behind, so I just wanted to keep in touch and not get too far away. The putt on 15 was the turning point, and the one on 18 was obviously huge too. I think my game is in a good lace right now. It gives me a lot of confidence, especially after missing the cut last week. It’s been incredible to play with McIlroy. I learned a lot from him.”
McIlroy, who was bidding to win the tournament for the third time, said: “After birdieing 10, and going two ahead, I thought I was in the driver’s seat. But then I made a bogey out of nowhere on 11 – just a bad nine iron there – and then the three-putt on 13, those were the two key holes of the tournament, really, even though there was a bad tee shot on 16. But I tried until the very end. Made two good birdies, and made him win it in the end, which was all I could do. He played very well on the way in, birdieing three of the last four. I just wish I could get a couple of those holes back.”
He added: “If someone had of told me at the start of the year you’d finish third and second your first two events, I’d say, yeah, I’d take that. But being in the positions I’ve been in, and having two close calls the first couple of weeks of the year, it’s a little difficult. The competitor in me is very disappointed right now. I wanted to win. I always want to win, and I just didn’t do enough when I needed to.”