The 190th-ranked Elvira did what the two Ryder Cup stars couldn’t and stayed out of trouble at No. 18, making a stress-free par to shoot 69 to finish at 10 under in the first tournament of 2026.
A few minutes earlier, Lowry had been on that track on his way to the last, but found the greenside bunker from his approach and then water over the green from the sand. He made a double-bogey 6 for a round of 69 and finished two strokes back.
Before that, McIlroy arrived on the 18th tee, one shot behind Lowry, but pushed his drive all the way into the rough, sent his approach into the bunker and couldn’t get up and down. McIlroy and Lowry were tied for third place.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier shot 65 and was alone in second place at 9 under.
“It means the world,” said Elvira, whose wife and children ran onto the green to celebrate with the 38-year-old Spaniard. ‘If you told me on Tuesday that I would win this, I would never believe you.
“Everything that happens after this will be incomparable.”
Roller coaster around
Elvira started the final round in the lead and had a three-shot lead at 11 under after birdieing No. 7. Then came back-to-back bogeys from No. 8 before saving par on the par-5 No. 10 after hitting the water with his second shot, leaving him in touch with Lowry, McIlroy and a crowd of challengers.
About an hour before the finish, five players – Hillier, McIlroy, Lowry, Marcus Armitage and Elvira – shared the lead at 9 under before Lowry rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on No. 15 to take the solo lead. He couldn’t hold on.
Elvira said he had “no idea” about Lowry’s meltdown on the 18th until after his second shot on the last.
“I knew I had two putts to win – I felt more nervous, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a good position to be in, but I was a bit nervous. But I’m very happy.”
Lowry was looking for a first European tour title since September 2022 and a first win anywhere since taking a team victory with close friend McIlroy at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April 2024.
McIlroy’s indictment
McIlroy has won plenty since then – including last year’s Masters to complete his career Grand Slam – and looked set to start 2026 with another win after making five straight birdies from No. 9 to take a share of the lead.
However, he played the last five holes in 1 over.
“I wasn’t really focused on winning the tournament,” said runner-up McIlroy. “I just tried to put it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part. It would have been nice to hit the fairway at the end to give myself a chance for a birdie there.”
“Overall it was a good first week. I felt like I learned a lot about my game. I wasn’t very sharp, but hopefully I’ll go into next week a little bit sharper than this week.”
Next stop
The European tour doesn’t travel far for the next event: about half an hour’s drive along the coastline to the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club from Thursday.
#Nacho #Elvira #pounces #late #mistakes #Rory #McIlroy #Shane #Lowry #win #Dubai #Invitational