Shane Lowry’s hopes of a first victory since 2022 blew up on the last hole as Nacho Elvira held his nerve to steal the Dubai Invitational after a dramatic finale.
Lowry was clinging on to a one shot lead standing on the fairway of the 72nd hole but a devastating double bogey finish saw him fall out of the lead and allow Elvira to finish birdie, par to clinch an emotional third DP World Tour title on ten-under-par.
Lowry, who spoke of maintaining a positive attitude, lost his process when he tugged his approach long and left into the greenside bunker in fear of hitting it in the water right of the green. Just minutes later he would find a watery grave as a thin bunker shot trundled into the pond – it cost him a double bogey and he had to settle for a 69 and third place on eight-under, two shots behind Elvira.
The Offaly man looked odds on to end his drought of almost four years without a win when he broke free of a five-way tie for the lead with a 27-foot birdie on 15 to reach double figures under par.
Two stress free pars followed, but just after he found the greenside bunker on 18, Elvira produced a crucial birdie on the 17th to level affairs again. Lowry’s collapse left the Spaniard one clear of Daniel Hillier and he needed two putts to secure the biggest win of his career.
Lowry though, suffered a case of deja vu. Last year he three-putted on the 18th at the PGA Tour’s Truist Championship to hand Sepp Straka victory but what happened at Dubai Creek was even more gutting.
The 2019 Open champion started brilliantly in his quest to hunt down Elvira with three birdies in his first four holes. His only blemish came on the 7th but he managed to edge out in front with birdies on 13 and 15.
The 15th looked like a turning point as the putts were falling for him when previously they hadn’t been in this situation.
Rory McIlroy (68) did his very best to fall over the line with five birdies in a row from the 9th to move from six behind to a tie for the lead but a closing bogey ended his hopes and made Lowry an even stronger favourite for victory. He couldn’t have expected to share third place on -8 with his close friend.
Elvira, who almost lost his DP World Tour card last year, looked dead and buried after he squandered a three-shot lead as birdies on the first, fourth and seventh were followed by back to back bogeys.
Elvira made a miraculous par after finding the water on the par-5 10th which kept his hopes alive and a 7-foot birdie on 17 turned out to be the winner and a well fought round of 69.
“It means the world,” the 38-year-old said. “If you told me on Tuesday that I’d be winning this tournament I’d have never believed you.
“It’s a dream come true, especially having the family here. I’ve always dreamed to have my kids walking up to me with a win and anything that happens after this, nothing compares to this.
“I knew at some point it was going to be difficult, especially with the great players playing in front of me. I somehow managed to make a par on ten, managed somehow to make a par on 11 and I guess I calmed down a little after this and stayed patient.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t nervous until the very last putt – the one-footer I had for the win. I knew what I needed to do, I knew I needed to be patient.
“I think there are so many positives from this week and I couldn’t be more happier.”
Meanwhile, far, far away from the drama that was to come. Tom McKibbin closed with a round of 70 to share 38th place on five-over while Pádraig Harrington also shot 70 for eight-over.
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