Jorge Campillo secured victory at the Kenya Open with a smooth final round of 66 on Sunday, his first DP World Tour win since the 2020 Qatar Masters.
The overnight leader following his impressive 63 on Saturday started well again, carding five birdies over his first 10 holes.
A bogey at the 11th was the Spaniard's first dropped shot in 38 holes, but six pars and a birdie from his final seven allowed Campillo to claim the title by two shots, finishing on 18 under par.
"[I feel] very good, it's always nice to win. To be able to close it off is a nice feeling," he said after sealing victory.
The 36-year-old follows the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Trevor Immelman in winning the Kenya Open, and he was typically humble when asked how it felt to be among those figures.
"It's hard to put my name under those names, you know," Campillo said. "I am from the little town I am from. I'm very proud, it's always nice to win a golf tournament but to have the name on the same trophy as Seve is obviously more special for Spain."
Masahiro Kawamura secured outright second with a birdie at the 18th to finish on 16 under, also following a trend among the leading pack by recording a final round of 66, with five of the top six doing so.
Santiago Tarrio and Ryo Hisatsune claimed joint-third on 15 under, while Lukas Nemecz and Borja Virto finished tied for fifth one shot further back.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre fell away from contention with his round of 70, starting the day in second place but ultimately having to settle for joint-seventh on 13 under.
The best rounds on Sunday came from Dutchman Darius van Driel and South Africa's Shaun Norris, who both carded eight-under rounds of 63 to finish tied for 11th and 20th respectively.
Marcel Siem pipped Yannik Paul to the Indian Open title as a brilliant four-under-par final round clinched victory on Sunday.
Paul headed into the third round on Saturday with a five-shot lead, but a troublesome day three saw his advantage cut to just one at the top of the standings.
Despite Paul steadying himself with a two-under final round to finish on 13 under, it was fellow German Siem who roared to victory with five birdies to reach 14 under and secure his first win on the DP World Tour since 2014.
Dutchman Joost Luiten finished a shot behind Paul in third, while Jorge Campillo and Kazuki Higa shot final rounds of three under and four under respectively to be tied for fourth.
An excellent day four for Alexander Knappe propelled him up to joint-sixth, managing two eagles in a six-under-par final round to leave him level with Thorbjorn Olsen.
Veer Ahlawat and Shubhankar Sharma were the best of the home favourites, both finishing strongly to be among a group of players on four under.
Speaking after his victory, Siem said: "This means a lot because two years ago I wasn't even sure if I could still compete on the European Tour, and now I'm a winner again."
Thorbjorn Olesen won his second DP World Title in the space of a year after carding a bogey-free 66 final round at the Thailand Classic.
Olesen, whose victory at the British Masters in May 2022 had ended a four-year wait for a win, won by a comfortable four strokes having taken a two-shot lead into the final day.
The 33-year-old finished at 24 under for the tournament as he collected the seventh DP World Tour title of his career.
Olesen, who will move back into the top 100 next week, has gone on to win six tournaments on the Tour when holding a 54-hole lead.
"It's very special. Obviously the British Masters win was incredible, with my family, and it had been a long time since I won the last time," said the Dane after claiming his first title in Asia.
"But equally this one, all the hard work and all the sacrifice from my wife. It's really nice.
"It felt really good, felt steady, I felt like I was in control and I just enjoyed playing golf."
Olesen's compatriot Oliver Hundeboll, meanwhile, played the shot of the round as he sunk a hole-in-one on the 13th.
Alexander Knappe carded a brilliant 67 after seven birdies from his final nine holes, with the German finishing T3 along with Joost Luiten, two shots back from second-place Yannik Paul.
Ockie Strydom shot a stunning nine-under round of 63 to seal victory in the Singapore Classic by one stroke on Sunday.
The South African's final round was the best score of the day at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club and propelled him to top spot ahead of Sami Valimaki of Finland.
The victory is Strydom's second on the DP World Tour after he claimed the Alfred Dunhill Championship on home soil in December.
"It's my mindset that's changing at the moment," he said. "When you've been in that situation before you know you can do it again.
"I was thinking of not being here this week as I was hitting it so badly. My coach and wife said 'maybe it's your week' and look what happened, it was my week!"
Joint leaders after the third round, Wang Jeung-hun and Alejandro del Rey, finished in a tie for third with Marcel Schneider, four shots back from Strydom.
The Ryder Cup will not be "devalued" if LIV Golf Invitational Series players are barred from taking part, insists Justin Rose.
The build-up to this year's tournament in Rome has been overshadowed by debates surrounding the eligibility of players who signed up for the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf circuit.
The United States have already said their team will not feature any LIV Golf players, while the chances of any European LIV Golf participants qualifying could be limited by this week's arbitration hearing to establish whether they can play on the DP World Tour.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Europe's three-time Ryder Cup champion Rose backed the tournament to cope with the absence of some of golf's biggest names.
"There is so much strength in depth, I don't think it will be devalued," Rose said.
"People like watching Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter. They bring a lot of passion. They will be missed for sure, but it is what it is.
"You have the powers that be, the traditional people who still have control of golf, and you have an upstart league that is trying to bring in a fresh idea and rival product.
"It's all good either way, they just can't both fit together in this scenario."
Rose, who ended a four-year PGA Tour title drought by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday, gave genuine consideration to an offer from LIV Golf, but the tour's inability to award world ranking points led to him rejecting the chance to join.
"There have been moments where it all sounds pretty good on paper," he said of LIV Golf. "The concept itself has been around for seven years and there are elements where it sounds really, really cool.
"There was never a moment in time when all the top players could get behind it because there were too many unanswered questions, specifically around world ranking points, that was the major hurdle I faced with the decision.
"I couldn't get away from the fact I wanted to play major championship golf. I don't have exemptions down the line so my clean way into the majors is maintaining a good world ranking.
"So that became a null and void, a non-negotiable, from my point of view."
Daniel Gavins recovered after twice finding the water on the 18th hole to clinch a dramatic one-shot victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on Sunday.
Gavins began the final round two shots behind leader Zander Lombard, but the Englishman moved ahead with a run of five successive birdies immediately after bogeying the first.
Two strokes separated Gavins from the pursuing Alexander Bjork ahead of the final hole, where the leader initially appeared to have thrown the title away in remarkable circumstances.
Gavins drove into the water and did likewise with his approach, before pulling a 26-foot putt out of the bag to finish with a double bogey and leave him waiting anxiously on his competitors.
Bjork put himself out of the running with a bogey before Lombard missed an eagle putt to tie things up, handing Gavins his second DP World Tour victory 18 months after his first – which came at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in August 2021.
Speaking after the dramatic finish, Gavins said: "I am pretty speechless. I thought I had [thrown it away]. I put two in the water and thought 'that's one way to end the tournament'.
"I've been struggling off the tee the last two weeks and it's not a very nice tee shot to have on 18, even with a lead.
"It was a difficult hole to get through and to be fair I thought I was holing that putt for a play-off. I didn't realise Bjork had made bogey.
"I sunk the putt and went to the back of the green and saw that I was actually winning still. It was kind of a big shock."
Bjork and Lombard were tied for second on 16-under-par, while Adrian Meronk and Thorbjorn Olesen finished one shot behind the duo in a share of fourth.
Twin brothers Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard began the day in contention, but the former finished 14-under and the latter dropped off to finish three shots further back.
Open champion Cameron Smith claims golf's world rankings are becoming "obsolete" due to there being no points awarded for LIV Golf tournaments.
The Australian spoke out ahead of this week's Saudi International, an Asian Tour event that was getting under way on Thursday, saying it hurt him that his prospects of getting to number one had been dealt a blow.
Smith is among a host of major winners and star names who have defected from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to the controversial LIV Golf tour, a lucrative Saudi-backed series that critics claim was launched in an effort to 'sportswash' the Middle East country's reputation.
For 29-year-old Smith, who won the Chicago leg of the LIV series last September, the limitations of where he can collect ranking points is a setback. He has been as high as number two but is now fourth on the rankings list, which is led by Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy has been as vociferous an opponent of LIV Golf as any player and is not playing this week in Saudi Arabia, where a host of top names, many of them from LIV Golf, are in the field and ranking points are available.
Smith said of the rankings situation: "I've tried to take it not that badly. When you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there's a world ranking or not. There's generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.
"For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to number one, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off, but the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.
"That's just the long and short of it, I think. Do we need them? It would be nice, but like I said, you know who you've got to beat when you get on the golf course."
LIV Golf is hoping it will be able to award ranking points in future.
Smith said he had enjoyed parading the Open Championship's Claret Jug while at home during the off-season.
"I took it back down to Australia, took it to my home club," he said. "They actually had a trophy night, kind of the day that I got back down there, so I took it to the trophy night.
"It was a little bit hectic. It's a pretty cool trophy. I'd describe it as like seeing a ghost, I think, for the most part, the look that it brings to their face and the feeling that it gives them is pretty special.
"I've taken it everywhere with me. Just about had every liquid you can put in there I've tried to put in it. But it's been awesome. It's been fun over Christmas; the family drinking out of it was something I'll never forget."
Rory McIlroy said his victory over Patrick Reed at the Dubai Desert Classic was "sweeter than it should be or needs to be".
World number one McIlroy clinched his third title at the event in a thrilling final round, making a fine birdie at the last hole on Monday to fend off rival Reed.
Prior to the tournament American and LIV Golf defector Reed labelled McIlroy an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range and was also alleged to have thrown a tee at the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
Reed was involved in more controversy on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.
But McIlroy, considered by some as the PGA Tour's de facto spokesperson since LIV Golf's breakaway, came out on top in scintillating fashion.
"I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I've had to play, it would have been really easy to let emotions get in the way," he told DP World Tour media.
"I had to really concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really, really well.
"I think I showed a lot of mental strength out there today and something to build on for the rest of the year.
"There's been a ton of positives this year, but also some things to learn from and improve on.
"I'm going to enjoy this, this is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on.
"It's a great start to the year and a good foundation to work from."
McIlroy took a three-shot advantage into the final round, but victory could have slipped from his grasp when a tee shot held up close to the water on the 18th.
Yet the 33-year-old kept his cool to set up a 15-foot putt, which he sunk to avoid a play-off.
"Honestly I feel like I got lucky my ball didn't go in the water off the tee shot, it's such an awkward tee shot, driver's too much, three wood's not enough. I tried to hit an easy driver and it came off too hot," McIlroy said.
"I really only had one choice, to lay up and try to get up and down that way. I said yesterday with the two balls in the water on Sunday last year and yesterday, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice… I wasn't going to get fooled a third time."
Rory McIlroy produced the best round of the day as his 65 took him three shots clear of the rest heading into the final round at the Dubai Desert Classic.
The world number one had not been pleased with his second round as he started Sunday tied for seventh – level with Patrick Reed after their spat earlier in the week – on eight under.
McIlroy excelled in his third round though, starting with four consecutive birdies before producing another four in five of his final six holes.
A bogey on the 18th was the only negative from an otherwise productive day as McIlroy ended on seven under par for the round, and 15 under overall.
"It would be great. I love this golf course. I love this tournament. I've won here a couple of times," the Northern Irishman said after his round.
"This is my first start of the year. I don't think I've ever won in my first start of the year – I had plenty of chances at Abu Dhabi down the road over the years, and never quite got it done.
"So tomorrow is a nice opportunity to try to do something that I've never done before."
English pair Callum Shinkwin and Dan Bradbury are tied for second on 12 under, going round in 67 and 68 respectively.
Reed is among seven players tied for fourth on 11 under after his 69, joining the likes of Ian Poulter, Victor Perez and Adri Arnaus.
After a promising first two rounds, Thomas Pieters could only record a par-score of 72 to end Sunday tied for 11th on 10 under, while Tommy Fleetwood dropped to a tie for 38th on six under after also going round in 72.
World number one Rory McIlroy expressed frustration with his performance at the Dubai Desert Classic, where Thomas Pieters, Michael Thorbjornsen and Richard Bland shared the halfway lead.
The tournament will spill into Monday after adverse weather on the first two days, with Belgian Pieters, Englishman Bland and American amateur Thorbjornsen sharing the lead on 10 under heading into the final two rounds.
McIlroy is tied for seventh place – along with Patrick Reed, after their spat earlier in the week – on eight under.
The Northern Irishman was unhappy with his second round, however, after carding a 70 following his first-round 66.
McIlroy birdied the third and made an eagle putt from 33 feet on the 13th, yet he bogeyed the 10th and could not beat par on any other hole.
"More of the same really," said McIlroy when asked for his thoughts on Saturday's round.
"I think I only hit two fairways. Once you can't hit fairways and the rough is quite thick, it's hard to get any control on your ball, get close to par fours. A little rusty, I need to do a bit of work on it.
"I've chipped and putted it well and got myself around the course okay, been able to post a couple of decent scores and at least have a chance going into the last few days. But definitely more negatives than positives – I need to go and figure it out on the range."
McIlroy was, however, pleased the tournament organisers extended the event through to Monday.
He said: "I'm glad that they've gone to Monday and all the field have the opportunity to play 72 holes. It's such a big event, I think the discrepancy between these big events and the lesser ones, that fourth day could mean a lot to someone for changing the course of their year or their career.
"We can still get to our destinations on Monday night. Thankfully for me, there's two more rounds."
Reed also went round in 70 on Saturday, while Spain's Adri Arnaus, Sweden's Marcus Kinhult and Connor Syme of Scotland stood tied for fourth on nine under par.
Pieters, meanwhile, recovered from a sloppy front nine by having seven birdies after the turn.
American Thorbjornsen carded an eagle and seven birdies as he went round in 64, while Englishman Dan Bradbury registered the best score of the round, a 63, to join McIlroy and Reed on eight under, with Ian Poulter also in the eight-man group on that score.
"It feels good," Thorbjornsen said. "I didn't have the best round yesterday and the day before, felt like I missed a lot of putts out there. I thought I had a pretty good game plan but just stuck to it today. I actually made some putts.
"I enjoy playing professional golf a lot and I'm still an amateur, but just the golf courses that we play, the crowd out there, it's what I'm dreaming of ever since I was five or six years old. It just feels good to be out there."
Rory McIlroy put himself firmly in the mix at the Dubai Desert Classic after a flourish that disguised the "rusty" golf he feared would put him way down the leaderboard.
The lucrative DP World Tour event was again hit by wet weather on Friday, after a six-hour delay on Thursday, and with McIlroy among many in the field yet to begin the second round, organisers decided it would be extended to finish on Monday rather than Sunday.
McIlroy got his work for the day done in the morning at Emirates Golf Club, polishing off an opening round he left in a promising place overnight, having reached two under through 15 holes and given himself a short-range putt at the next that he elected to leave for Friday.
The world number one made that putt, then holed out from 107 yards for eagle at the eighth hole, his 17th, and finished with another birdie to complete a six-under 66 for what was a share of the lead at the time.
McIlroy summed up his performance on Thursday as "honestly not very good", so he was thankful to shoot such a low score.
"I struggled out there most of yesterday," McIlroy said. "I thought did I well to be under par by the end of the day. I fought back after some very sloppy rusty golf over the first 14 holes.
"And then today I came out and I don't really know if anything clicked because I don't think I hit enough shots to know. But it was definitely needed. I would have been happy with anything around 70 the way I played, and then to come in and shoot 66 is quite the bonus."
American Patrick Reed, involved in a pre-tournament spat with McIlroy and alleged to have thrown a tee at his rival, joined the Northern Irishman on six under through the opening 18 holes thanks to a 15-foot eagle putt at the last.
Reed, who missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week, said: "I'm obviously really happy with the way I played. I felt like last week wasn't really a reflection of all the hard work I've been doing in the off-season.
"To come out this week and feel like I was able to put everything together and to have my mind right on game planning and course management was definitely a plus. I feel like I had full control of the golf ball and made a couple of putts."
Reed and McIlroy will play their second rounds on Saturday, but others began their second circuits before darkness brought an end to Friday's play.
The first-round joint lead was snatched away from Reed and McIlroy by Swedish amateur Ludvig Aberg and Englishman Ian Poulter, who both carded seven-under 65s.
Aberg then stumbled in the early stages of his second round, slipping back to five under through seven holes, but Poulter had a share of the overnight lead on eight under after making birdie at the third, the last hole he completed.
Alongside Poulter was fellow English veteran Richard Bland, who followed a 67 by picking up three shots in the opening four holes of his second round.
Spain's Angel Hidalgo held third place on seven under after he followed a 66 with an early birdie in round two, while South African Louis de Jager joined McIlroy and Reed in a share of fourth position.
Rory McIlroy was tied with rival Patrick Reed for the lead after the delayed conclusion to round one of the Dubai Desert Classic, though the Northern Irishman was not entirely satisfied with his performance.
The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by a spat between world number one McIlroy and LIV Golf defector Reed.
American Reed labelled McIlroy an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range and was also alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy.
McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed has said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
A strong start from both players on a rain-delayed day one raised the possibility of an intriguing pairing over the weekend.
And the chances of that happening were increased with McIlroy – who started on the back nine – closing birdie, eagle, birdie to finish his first round at six under par.
Reed matched that score thanks to a 15-foot eagle at the last.
Asked for his thoughts about how he played in round one, McIlroy said: "Honestly, not very good. I struggled out there most of yesterday. I thought I did well to be under par by the end of the day. I fought back after some very sloppy rusty golf over the first sort of 14 holes.
"And then today I came out and I don't really know if anything clicked because I don't think I hit enough shots to know, but it was definitely needed.
"I would have been happy with anything around 70 the way I played, and then to come in and shoot 66 is quite the bonus."
The highlight for McIlroy was holing out from 114 yards out of the sand at the eighth (his 17th).
"You know, I wouldn't say I'm the best fairway bunker player in the world. The desert is a little nicer, it's a little more packed down, so you get some better lies," he said.
"All I was thinking about was catching it clean. My tendency out of those lies is to hit it a little bit heavy. As soon as I struck it – went down the grip a little bit just to make sure of the strike – I knew it came out really nicely and it was right down the pin.
"Again, anything inside of 20 feet, I would have been happy with, so that was certainly a bonus."
Rivals Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed made positive starts to the Dubai Desert Classic after heavy rain caused play on day one to be delayed by over six hours.
World number one McIlroy was involved in an eve-of-tournament spat with American Reed, who labelled the Northern Irishman an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range. Reed was also alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy.
McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed has said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
"I'm living in reality. I don't know where he’s living," McIlroy said of his snub for Reed, one of the players who has signed up or LIV Golf. "If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't expect a hello or a handshake."
They could yet end up as playing partners later this week, which would be awkward, and Reed sped out to four under par through 16 holes once play finally got under way on Thursday, before bad light halted players in their tracks.
McIlroy, who began on the back nine, was playing his 16th hole when he abandoned for the day, having reached two under and given himself a great birdie opportunity, leaving himself a five-foot putt for the morning at the par-three seventh.
Playing partner Ryan Fox missed out on a hole in one when his tee shot to the same hole, bang on target, rolled up just six inches short. The New Zealander tapped that in to go to three under.
That put Fox into a share of eighth place, with McIlroy tied for 12th.
Belgium's Thomas Pieters led on five under through 15 holes, one ahead of a group of six, with Reed, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and Frenchman Victor Perez approaching the end of their rounds, while Matthew Jordan, Daniel Gavins and Oliver Wilson reached the clubhouse. Gavins made bogey after a missed putt at the last, electing to play on after the hooter and forfeiting a share of the lead.
Only 66 players of the 132 in the tournament got going on Thursday, meaning Friday was set to be busy, with those left with holes to complete set to start at 08:00 local time (04:00 GMT), and the rest of the field beginning their first rounds at 08:20, with second rounds to follow.
Padraig Harrington was having a dismal round, with the former Open and US PGA champion at eight over after 13 holes.
After a challenging weather day, leader Pieters said of the course: "I think it played fair. Obviously they guarded against some of the conditions, and they moved a few tees forward on holes like 12, where you normally are hitting long irons, and you're hitting short wedges. If you found fairways and had ball-in-hand, it was definitely playable."
Rory McIlroy has been called an "immature little child" by Patrick Reed.
McIlroy confirmed he purposely ignored Reed at a practice session ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Reed, one of the high-profile players who left the PGA Tour to sign up for the LIV Golf Invitational last year, was alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy, who claimed not to have noticed.
The American, who McIlroy said had served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, has denied there was any malicious intent behind that move, as he hit out at the world number one's behaviour.
Reed told reporters: "One of my attorneys filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour based off the fans' perspective.
"Supposedly, he subpoenaed Tiger [Woods] and Rory. You know, the media sits there and acts as if I'm the one that is subpoenaing these guys and, honestly, that's far from the truth – it has nothing to do with me and nothing to do with any of the lawsuits that I'm a part of.
"It was good to see [Rory] again this week, that he's over here supporting [the DP World Tour] again, but it is one of those things.
"If you're going to act like an immature little child, then you might as well be treated like one."
Reed, who won the Masters in 2018, explained what happened when he went to greet McIlroy.
"[McIlroy's caddie] Harry [Diamond] shook my hand and Rory was messing with his TrackMan [golf app], and he just looked up and kind of decided to ignore us.
"Since my tees are Team Aces LIV tees, I flicked him one. It was kind of a funny shot back. Funny how a small, little flick has basically turned into me stabbing him."
McIlroy said the incident was a "storm in a teacup", but also said: "I'm living in reality. I don't know where he’s living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't expect a hello or a handshake."
Reed is now hoping to go head-to-head with McIlroy out on the course.
"That would be great, but I will tell you this much – there won't be much talking," Reed said.
"Even if I said hello on the first, he won't say anything. I can be as much a gentleman as I can be, [it's] his choice if he doesn't respond."
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