Francesco Molinari, near podium finish in Hero Dubai Desert Classic
Patrick Reed of LIV Golf of the United States came out on top in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, taking the title with a score of 274 strokes (69 66 67 72, -14) and edging out England’s Andy Sullivan, second at 278 (-10), by four lengths.
The event, the first of the five Rolex Series on the DP World Tour, was played on the Emirates Golf Club (par 72) course in Dubai, UAE, and provided good satisfaction for the Italian colors as well. Francesco Molinari, leader after the first round, finished in fourth place with 280 strokes (65 72 71 72, -8), hitting his second top ten of the season. Further behind was Andrea Pavan who, penalized by an uphill finish, finished 14th with 283 (69 68 71 75, -5).
Shinded by Reed and Sullivan, third was Frenchman Julien Guerrier with 279 (-9). Also in fourth place, along with Molinari, are Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard and South Africa’s Jayden Schaper, current Race to Dubai leader. Seventh place at 281 (-7) for Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, England’s Marcus Armitage and Spain’s David Puig, one of eleven LIV Golf players in the competition. Disappointing, however, was the performance of Rory McIlroy and defending champion Tyrrell Hatton: both finished 33rd with 286 (-2).
Reed handled the final round with authority, which began with a four-shot lead over Puig: the par 72 (two birdies and two bogeys) was enough to administer the margin without any particular anxiety. For the 35-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, this is his first Rolex Series success and fourth title on the DP World Tour. His palmarès also includes one Major (Masters 2018), two WGCs, six wins on the PGA Tour, one title on the Asian Tour and one in LIV Golf (Dallas 2025), a circuit in which he plays on compatriot Dustin Johnson’s team. Reed has also competed in three Ryder Cups, winning one with Team USA in 2016 as a star player.
The success earned him a check for 1,302,931 euros out of a total prize pool of about 7,610,000 euros. Thanks to this result, he jumped from 44th to 25th in the world ranking and from 107th to second in the Race to Dubai.
Molinari, 43, from Turin, had opened the tournament with a splendid 65 (eight birdies and one bogey), the best score of the event shared with Sullivan and Guerrier, and then closed with a final 72 (four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey). Pavan, 36, instead finished the final round in 75 (+3).
