RORY McILROY WINS WITH EASE, GREAT EFFORT BY

STEPHEN GALLACHER TO FINISH THIRD

Rory McIlroy cantered home to an all-the-way victory in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic today.
The 25-year-old from Holywood near Belfast shot rounds of 66, 64, 66 and 70 for a 22-under-par aggregate of 266.
He won by three shots from fast finishing Swede, Alex Noren - 68,67, 67 and 65 for 269.
Stephen Gallacher, bidding for an historic hat-trick of triumphs in this event did very well indeed to finish third on 16-under 272 with scores of 66, 67, 70 and 69. 
Marc Warren tied for 13th on 275 with a closing round of 71.
Paul Lawrie finished T29 on 279. His last round was his worst of the four - a one-over-par 73 which saw him drop shots coming down the home straight: at the 14th, 16th and 17th. He had earlier birdied the eighth and 10th.
Chris Doak tied for 63 on 286 with a closing 71.
Scott Jamieson lost the plot over the last nine holes of the tournament. He finished with a mind-blowing 11-over-par 83, with halves of 36-47.
Jamieson had a double bogey at the long 10th, a triple bogey 8 at the long 13th, bogeyed 14-15-16, birdied 17th and had a double bogey at the 18th.
Richie Ramsay withdrew before the final round after scores of 71, 70 and 75 for 216.

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LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) Prizemoney in Euros
266 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 66 64 66 70 (378,779).
269 Alex Noren (Sweden) 68 67 69 65 (252,519)
272 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 66 67 70 69 (142,272)
273 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 67 69 73 64, Gary Stal (France) 69 69 67 68, Bernd Weisberger (Austria) 64 69 70 70, Andy Sullivan (England) 65 68 70 70 (82,908 each).

OTHER SCOTS' TOTALS
275 Marc Warren 66 65 73 71 (T13) (32,143)
279 Paul Lawrie 69 71 66 73 (T29) (20,227)
286 Chris Doak 72 70 73 71 (T63) (5,341)
295 Scott Jamieson 74 68 70 83 (last of 74) (3,400)
Withdrew: Richie Ramsay 71 70 75-216

McILROY CANTERS TO FIRST WIN OF 2015
 
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Rory McIlroy claimed his first title of 2015 by steamrolling his way to victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, thanks to a composed and clinical display befitting of the world’s number one golfer.
Leading by four shots entering the final day at the Emirates Golf Club, the 25 year old was a steady and assured presence despite a relatively unspectacular level par front nine.
While his closest challengers struggled to close the gap, McIlroy’s class began to show on the way home as he birdied two of the back nine’s three par fives, the tenth and 13th, to sign for a two under par 70, a tournament record-equalling 22 under total and a three-shot victory.
Swede Alex Noren’s return to form continued as he carded a seven under par 65 to claim runner-up spot, his best finish since winning the most recent of his three European Tour victories at the 2011 Nordea Masters.
Stephen Gallacher of Scotland maintained his incredible record in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic despite missing out on a third consecutive win at the event, adding an outright third place finish to his two wins and a runner-up finish in 2012, courtesy of a closing 69 and a 16 under total.
Morten Ørum Madsen, who was McIlroy’s nearest competitor after round three, struggled to a triple-bogey on the opening hole and, while he staged a brave comeback, it was ultimately a bridge too far for the Dane and he finished in a share of fourth place alongside German Martin Kaymer - who recorded a superb eight under par 64 - Frenchman Gary Stal, England’s Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria on 15 under par.

PLAYER QUOTES

Rory McIlroy - "It wasn't the best round that I've played this year but I got the job done and that's the most important thing.
"That was sort of the objective coming to the Middle East, just after the new year. I wanted to get at least one win going heading to the States and getting into the sort of big part of the season I guess.
"It's great to get that win and coming off a good performance in Abu Dhabi, as well, I've got some confidence and momentum on my side heading into the next couple months.
"I've done a lot of good work the last few weeks here in the Middle East and I've got three weeks off now. I won't have three weeks of hitting balls I guess, but I'll have at least a good week of preparation going into the Honda.
"I'll keep it ticking over. It will be nice to get back to the States and get in my own house and get into a routine and practice and stuff.
"I don't mind that the Masters is still a couple of months away. I feel like I can keep this run of form going, and there's no reason why I shouldn't. I'm comfortable with my game, I'm happy with how I'm swinging it and it's just a matter of keeping on top of things and not getting complacent and working hard."

Alex Noren - "It was an amazing day and an amazing week. I missed it so much, feeling some pulse and nervousness, it's really nice.
"I never even thought of winning, he's (Rory McIlroy) playing so good, even though today was a slower start from him. I was just trying to get a nice finish in. I'm thinking the next few weeks it's going to happen, so I just need to keep making birdies and try to stay up with the other guys.
"I was pretty unsure even two months ago if I was going to play again this early ‑ it's tough when you don't know if the hand is holding up, and that's been a little bit of a problem Thursday morning. I was like, here we go again. But it turned out better than I thought.
"I'm very, very surprised, happily surprised. But it feels, knock‑on‑wood, almost better than ever.
"I'm hitting better shots under pressure in the end. It felt like a lot of pressure, especially to me when I haven't felt pressure in a long time. And to pull off the shots that I did, I haven't been able do that so I'm really happy with that."

Stephen Gallacher - "It was a good week, I'm delighted with it. Obviously it was tough out there today and tough to chase the World Number One from so far back.  We were kind of playing for second place, so I'm delighted with my performance.
"I was way back. You needed to be three or four off the lead to have a chance. So you're trying to get as low as you can and get up the board and it was a tough day. I think for everybody in swirling wind, it's tough to get it pin‑high. You just have to knuckle down and take your chances.
"I made a conscious effort not to do too much in the winter. I wanted to come back and pick up from where I left off last season after having such a good season. It's going to plan so far."

Martin Kaymer - "I played very similar to the first three days but made some putts finally which was nice. I changed one little thing yesterday afternoon on the putting green.
"My hands were a little too far behind the ball so I just put them a little bit more forward, makes the ball roll easier on the greens and that made the biggest difference, because, especially yesterday, I struggled to make some putts, even to get them to the hole.
"It's always one of those places, I wish we would have a major here. I enjoy playing so much in the Middle East and usually I play well. Therefore, you know, I look forward to coming back in November again when we play The Race to Dubai final.
"When I came here, what happened in Abu Dhabi was a big learning lesson, and therefore I could move forward, especially when I teed off here on Thursday morning.
"So therefore I didn't really think much. I just played the way I played in Abu Dhabi, played really good golf. The first three days I didn't make as many putts as today but fortunately I finished well today."

ALL THE FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
266 R McIlroy  (NIr) 66 64 66 70
269 A Noren  (Swe) 68 67 69 65
272 S Gallacher (Sco) 66 67 70 69
273 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 64 69 70 70, G Stal  (Fra) 69 69 67 68, A Sullivan (Eng) 65 68 70 70, M Kaymer (Ger) 67 69 73 64, M Madsen  (Den) 71 63 66 73
274 G McDowell  (NIr) 67 65 72 70, T Aiken (RSA) 68 71 66 69, R Rock (Eng) 68 67 69 70, L Westwood (Eng) 65 68 69 72,
275 P Uihlein  (USA) 65 69 70 71, H Stenson (Swe) 70 66 70 69, B An (SKor) 70 70 66 69, R Paratore (Ita) 68 66 70 71, M Warren (Sco) 66 65 73 71, G Bourdy (Fra) 69 71 69 66, D Willett  (Eng) 67 66 70 72
276 P Larrazábal (Esp) 69 66 69 72, R Fisher (Eng) 71 68 71 66, G Havret  (Fra) 68 71 70 67, E Grillo (Arg) 67 68 69 72, A Quiros  (Esp) 73 69 70 64
277 D Howell (Eng) 71 69 69 68, R Green (Aus) 70 68 70 69
278 R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 71 67 69, D Lipsky (USA) 68 71 68 71
279 D Van Der Walt (RSA) 69 73 66 71, P Lawrie (Sco) 69 71 66 73, A Levy (Fra) 72 68 70 69
280 N Colsaerts  (Bel) 65 74 67 74, A Hansen (Den) 66 72 71 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 66 68 73 73
281 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 70 66 72 73, E Espana (Fra) 70 70 70 71, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 68 69 73, A Wall (Eng) 69 70 72 70, S Benson (Eng) 66 66 73 76, G Mulroy (RSA) 69 70 72 70, A Johnston (Eng) 68 72 71 70
282 M Foster (Eng) 73 69 67 73, T Pieters  (Bel) 69 69 75 69, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 71 70 71, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 70 70 71 71, K Broberg (Swe) 69 69 70 74
283 A Cañizares  (Esp) 72 69 69 73, Y Yang (SKor) 67 73 71 72, D Brooks (Eng) 69 73 71 70, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 72 70 71 70, J Campillo (Esp) 67 70 75 71, J Luiten (Ned) 68 70 70 75,
284 M Hoey  (Nir) 72 70 71 71, M Carlsson  (Swe) 71 71 65 77
285 R Bland (Eng) 71 69 72 73, B Grace  (RSA) 73 69 71 72, P Lawrie (Irl) 73 69 73 70, O Farr (Wal) 73 68 72 72, T Hatton (Eng) 71 69 72 73, M Ilonen  (Fin) 67 71 74 73, M Lampert (Ger) 71 67 75 72, E Els (RSA) 72 70 72 71
286 H Otto (RSA) 66 73 70 77, T Lewis (Eng) 68 73 70 75, C Doak (Sco) 72 70 73 71, E Molinari  (Ita) 70 72 73 71,
287 P Waring  (Eng) 69 67 72 79, B Dredge (Wal) 71 71 68 77, J Palmer (Eng) 74 68 72 73, W Ormsby (Aus) 69 69 70 79,
289 M Baldwin (Eng) 71 71 73 74
290 D Foos (Ger) 71 71 72 76
291 D McGrane (Irl) 71 70 74 76
295 S Jamieson  (Sco) 74 68 70 83
** R Ramsay  (Sco) 71 70 75 WD

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS