Rory McIlroy: Magician at work in Dubai – News

The 33-year-old Northern Irishman is in good form on the golf course in 2022, winning three tournaments

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. — Associated Press

Rory McIlroy is trying to make his 2023 look very different from 2022, but based on evidence from his first three days at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, his first race of the new season, it looks more Like the number one in the world.

The 33-year-old Northern Irishman is in good form on the golf course in 2022, where he has won three tournaments and finished in the top 10 in 15 of his 22 appearances.

Off the ropes, McIlroy played a leadership role in his battle with LIV Golf to become the face of the PGA Tour. He also played a key role in the reorganization of the PGA Tour events and has been a key player in the formation of Monday Night Golf, which will be organized by his new company, TMRW, in association with Tiger Woods.

His opening round at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday — 2 under par through 15 holes before play was suspended — was a masterclass. He had trouble hitting the ball and it should have been worse, but he swung his putter like a magician and made a few putts from over 10 feet for par or birdie.

All of this happened two days later in what is now known as “Teegate”. An incident has been exaggerated in which 2017 Masters champion Patrick Reed allegedly threw a tee at McIlroy in disgust after being ignored by the two-time Dubai Desert Classic champion on the practice range.

In his press conference, McIlroy admitted: “It’s nothing. Patrick came up to say hello, I really didn’t want him to do that. As far as I remember, that’s it. I didn’t see the t-shirt. I didn’t tee off. Feeling. Obviously, other people saw it. But it’s definitely overkill. I can’t believe it’s actually turned into a story.”

McIlroy, however, didn’t hesitate to hit the ball on Reed, and LIV golf in general.

“If the roles were reversed, I’d throw that tee at him, and I’d expect him to sue,” said McIlroy, who revealed he received a subpoena from Reed’s attorney on Christmas Eve to testify as a witness against them. Cases against Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee and the PGA Tour.

“I want to spend quality time with my family on Christmas Eve and someone shows up at your door and makes a delivery, you don’t take it.

“You can’t pretend nothing happened, can you? I’m living in reality. I don’t know where he lives. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”

McIlroy said he was feeling mentally drained by the end of 2022 and attributed it to things happening outside the ropes against LIV golf and in support of the PGA Tour.

“On reflection, I think I have a lot to take on,” McIlroy said.

“But I think it took a lot of hard work last year to get the promising wheels of the new system and the new structure of professional golf rolling. We just have to try and sort out the 2024 timetable, but I feel like most of the heavy lifting was done last year . We still have a lot of work to do, but hopefully this year won’t be as strenuous.”

McIlroy will wrap up his first round early Friday morning — he faced a three-foot birdie putt on the seventh hole — and is expected to rest for the rest of the day. His second round starts on Saturday.