The rain couldn’t hold off this nail-biting finish to the Dubai Desert Classic.

The Dubai Desert Classic started its annual opening round on Thursday at the Emirates course in the UAE, and from the get-go, players were battling it out for the lead. With a mix of PGA and LIV Tour players entered into the tournament, the air was a little testy here and there between certain players.

The recent ‘teegate’ drama between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed hasn’t gone away with the two world-class players scoring competitively low. At the end of round 2 they were both 8 under par and biting at the heels of the joint leaders on 10 under.

The momentum carried through into Saturday’s penultimate round where Rory McIlroy took control and shot 7 under to break from the crowd and secure him a three-shot lead at 15 under. It was a dramatic revelation when Sunday’s final round was delayed due to flooding. 60mm of rain fell over Dubai over the course of two days, the result of which pushed the final round onto the Monday morning.

With the grounds suitable for resuming play, the quality of play continued as the tournament came to a dramatic end. Henrik Stenson put in a good final round scoring 8 under to finish 12 under. Herbert Lucas was similarly playing well scoring 6 under to finish at 16 under, but all eyes were on Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy as they dueled back and forth for the lead.

Reed finished the tournament at a whopping 18 under par, putting incredible pressure on Rory as he was on the same score with one hole to play. A par would have meant a playoff, a bogey second place, but against the odds McIlroy dominated the par 5 final hole and rolled in a birdie putt to secure him the lead and finish at 19 under par. A truly gripping end to the tournament given the ‘teegate’ spat with Reed. McIlroy put his win down to his own mental fortitude, overcoming all distractions to focus on the round at hand “I had to forget who was up there on the leaderboard. I felt I showed a lot of mental strength.”

Doesn’t seeing these pros pull off birdie after birdie whet your appetite for a game yourself?