The secrets to Rory McIlroy’s success in Dubai revealed

Mark Townsend 21 Jan 2026

With Burj Khalifa, world's tallest tower, in background, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks on the 17th green during the final round of Dubai Invitational golf tournament — Rory McIlroy: Why is he so good in Dubai?

Why does Rory McIlroy play so well in Dubai?

This week marks the playing of the Dubai Desert Classic which has been the unofficial curtain raiser to the DP World Tour season for years.

Back in 2009, Rory McIlroy claimed the first of his 45 professional victories when he got up and down from the sand at the Emirates’ famous closing hole. He also won here in 2015 and then went back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, both by a single shot.

This week he’ll start as the clear favourite as he looks to make it five wins over a course where he is always a threat. We look at what makes him tick in Dubai and at The Emirates in particular.

1) This is desert golf and therefore brings in a lot of opportunities to unleash one of his many secret weapons. Yes, his short game is underrated, his putting vastly more consistent and his wedge game greatly improved, but stick a lot of drivers in his hands and he will give himself a lot of chances. As he explained after his maiden win in 2009.

“I’m quite long off the tee and there are a lot of holes where you can cut the corners and make it a lot shorter for yourself, and I was able to do that.

“Like the 1st, if someone has my length, you can fly the bunker. You can fly the corner on the 6th hole, as well, and you can hit it a bit right on 8 and fly the corner on 9. It makes it a lot easier when you’re just a little bit longer around here.

“The greens got quite firm for the weekend and I hit it quite high, as well, which probably helped to stop it a bit, as well.”

Things have played out as expected over the interim years – McIlroy is on a current run of 12 straight top 10s in the Dubai Desert Classic.

2) McIlroy is brilliant at getting off to fast starts and, with the winning score generally being around the -20 mark, he is in the mix from day one.

From 46 starts in Dubai he has led or shared the lead on 12 occasions – he led again last week after Thursday – and he has been within two of the lead on half of those starts. We might all have dark memories of him falling out of the gates at Augusta but, at The Emirates, he storms out the blocks.

3) The Masters champ likes to get his season off to a quick start. He’s an emotional player and this will be heightened by getting a scorecard in his hand again. He’s a competitor, he’ll have some new kit in the bag and he’ll have joy putting them to the test.

This is startling: in his 21 season starts as a pro, he’s had a win, six seconds and 15 top-five finishes in his first start to the year.

“Getting a win early in the year is always important. I think it really can sort of act as a nice springboard into the rest of the year. I knew my game was in good shape and I think getting the win just sort of validates that you’re on the right path and you’re doing the right things,” he reflected after his victory in 2024.

4) Dubai has been a bit of a second/third home to McIlroy over the years. It was one of his initial sponsors and it is a place where he is very familiar with.

“I first played this tournament in 2006 so I’ve been coming here for a long time. I’ve got a level of comfort here, I like starting my year here, I have a lot of friends and I called this place home for four years. I get great support here with the crowds that come out and, when you play competitively around a course for such a long time, it just feels automatic – where you hit your tee shots, where you remember certain things about certain shots and different putts and all those things play into it.

“I feel like the arc of my career and my time in Dubai have tracked very closely. This is one region and city that I’ve won more than anywhere else in my professional career and every time I come, I just have a really good feeling when I come back to Dubai. That helps me stay relaxed and play some good golf.”

5) The simple truth is that McIlroy has made his all-round game so strong that this is pretty much the perfect playground to show off those skills. If we look at what happened in 2023, it gives us a good idea of what generally plays out.

Off the tee he had the best stats off the tee, averaging 306 yards in distance. Tee to green he picked up two shots in the field for fifth place, he was top 20 for scrambling and he was 11th for putting. Over the four rounds he didn’t three-putt once!