Dubai Invitational: Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy miss out as Nacho Elvira snatches dramatic DP World Tour victory
Shane Lowry double-bogeyed his final hole to finish tied-third alongside Rory McIlroy, David Puig and Julien Guerrier; Nacho Elvira claimed a one-shot win over Daniel Hillier in Dubai; Watch the Hero Dubai Desert Classic live on Thursday from 4am on Sky Sports Golf
Sunday 18 January 2026 14:01, UK
Nacho Elvira capitalised on a final-hole blunder from Shane Lowry and Sunday charge from Rory McIlroy to claim a dramatic victory at the DP World Tour's Dubai Invitational.
Elvira took a two-stroke lead into the final day at the Dubai Creek Resort and briefly extended his lead to three shots, before a late front-nine stumble saw the chasing pack pull level with the Spaniard.
McIlroy came back from six behind to share the lead after a five-birdie run while Lowry, Marcus Armitage and Daniel Hillier also sat tied top of the leaderboard during an extraordinary Sunday.
- Dubai Invitational LIVE! How Elvira snatched thrilling win
- Final Dubai Invitational leaderboard [external site]
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Lowry edged into the solo lead and remained one ahead until finding the water on his final hole, with a double-bogey dropping him back to eight under, as Elvira birdied his penultimate hole and made par at the last to close out a one-shot win.
Elvira posted a two-under 69 to end the week on 10 under and claim a third DP World Tour title, with Hillier taking second spot ahead of McIlroy, Lowry, David Puig and Julien Guerrier.
How Lowry missed out in Dubai thriller
Lowry was the first player to move alongside Elvira, birdieing three of his first four holes before making a three-putt bogey at the seventh, only for the overnight leader to birdie three of his first seven holes and jump to 11 under.
McIlroy chipped in for birdie from off the third green but saw his hopes appear over when he bogeyed two of his next three holes, leaving him six back, only to be offered a lifeline when Elvira ended his front nine with successive bogeys.
Elvira recovered from finding the water at the 10th to scramble an unlikely par but saw his lead disappear to McIlroy, who fired five consecutive birdies from the ninth to charge to the top of the leaderboard.
Hillier followed an eagle at the 13th with a long-range birdie at the 15th to also get to nine under, while Lowry and Armitage both took advantage of the par-five 13th to briefly make it a five-way tie - including Elvira - for the lead.
Lowry holed a long-range birdie at the 15th to hit the front and threaten a first DP World Tour win since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, with the Irishman still ahead until he found the greenside bunker with his approach into the final hole and hit his next shot into the water.
A costly double-bogey dropped Lowry back to eight under alongside McIlroy, who bogeyed the last in the group ahead, with Elvira two-putting from the fringe for the par required to complete a first win since May 2024.
Armitage double-bogeyed the final hole to drop to six under alongside Thorbjorn Olesen and first-round leader Matt Wallace, while world No 3 Tommy Fleetwood - the 2024 champion - ended in tied-25th.
Elvira savours 'dream' win as McIlroy takes positives
McIlroy, speaking after his tied-third finish: "I was just trying to get the most out of what I had. I didn't get off to the greatest of starts. I wasn't really focused on winning the tournament.
"I was just trying to piece it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part. Would have been nice to hit the fairway at the last to give myself a chance for birdie there. Overall it was a good first week back.
"I felt like I learned a lot of stuff about my game. I wasn't very sharp, but hopefully I'm a little bit sharper going into next week than I was going into this week."
Elvira, speaking after his win: "It [winning] means the world. If you told me on Tuesday that I'm going to be winning this tournament, I would have never believed you.
"It's a dream come true, especially having the family here. I've always dreamt of my kids walking up to me with a win. I mean, anything that happens after this is just nothing compared to this."
What's next?
The DP World Tour stays in Dubai for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, the opening Rolex Series event of the season, with Tyrrell Hatton returning as defending champion and McIlroy featuring again.
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