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The 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic is set to begin on Thursday, January 18, at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 132-player field will fight for the prize purse of $9,000,000 at the first Rolex Series event of the season.
Rory McIlroy is the defending champion at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Last year, he won the event for the third time in his career, beating Patrick Reed by a stroke.
From Reed throwing a tee at McIlroy to both of them meeting in the final, the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic witnessed several moments for the fans. Here's a look at five top moments from the last year's event.
Top 5 moments from the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic
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#1 Patrick Reed throws tee at Rory McIlroy
The 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic was one of the first instances where some of the LIV Golf professionals competed against PGA Tour pros in the same event after their defection in the previous year. As a result, the tension was evident since both parties had been engaged in both a cold war and a legal battle against each other.
During the practice session ahead of the first round at the Emirates Golf Club, Patrick Reed attempted to ease the tension by greeting Rory McIlroy, but the latter avoided him.
Former Masters Champion Reed made another attempt to say hi to the former World No. 1 golfer and then walked away after receiving no response. However, he didn't leave without throwing a tee at the Northern Irishman. This incident sparked a significant controversy and set the tone for the entire week.
#2 Ludvig Aberg makes his debut
Last year, Ludvig Aberg qualified for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic playing field after topping the PGA Tour University Velocity Global Rankings, which also earned him a PGA Tour card for the remainder of the season.
Although Aberg could only finish T70 after aggregating at 3-under 285 at the Emirates Golf Club, this was the beginning of what turned out to be an incredible debut season as a pro.
The Swedish golfer won the Omega European Masters in his sixth start on the DP World Tour. He also became one of Luke Donad's picks for the Ryder Cup and played a significant role in Europe's successful win over the US. By the end of the year, Aberg had won the RSM Classic, his first on the PGA Tour.
#3 Patrick Reed again finds himself in the controversy
Within one week, Reed found himself again in controversy during the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. During the 17th hole of the third round, his tee shot landed on the palm tree on the right of the fairway.
After spending a few minutes searching for the ball in vain, DP World Tour Chief Referee Kevin Feeney approved a drop below the tree the golfer had identified. If he hadn't identified the tree, he would have had to take a drop and play the penalty shot from the tee.
However, later, a video surfaced that showed that the ball had hit the other tree and not the one below which the drop was taken. When asked about the incident, Reed said he would have gone back to the tee if he wasn't completely sure.
#4 Rory McIlroy wins the ultimate showdown
The week at Emirates Golf Club started with the Reed-McIlroy controversy; it was only fitting that it would end in such a manner.
After the three rounds, Rory McIlroy had a three-strike lead at 15-under, and Reed was four strokes back. In the final round, while the Northern Irishman carded 68, Reed gave him a tough fight and shot 65 but still fell one stroke short.
#5 Several LIV Golf members finish inside the top 10
There were a few LIV-associated names who finished inside the top 10 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Besides Reed, Ian Poulter finished T6, and Henrik Stenson finished T8. Thomas Pieters, who also finished joint sixth, announced his move to LIV a couple of weeks later.
