DUBAI INVITATIONAL

January 17, 2026

Rory McIlroy

Dubai Creek Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. Adding a round of 3-under 68 to your 2-under two round total. Give us your verdict on your play today?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little bit better than yesterday. Kept the ball dry instead of the four water balls I had. It was a tricky enough day. The wind was up a little bit again and maybe not quite as much as yesterday but got off to a bit of a slow start but stayed patient and hung in there. Was rewarded with three birdies on the back nine.

Q. Your 20th year as a professional, you've had a win, six seconds and 15 top five finishes in your first start of the year. What's the key to hitting the ground running?

RORY McILROY: I would say the opportunity to work on some things when you have a little bit of time off over the Christmas period. And then I just think the enthusiasm to start a new year and start fresh. I've always loved coming out here to the Middle East and to Dubai and playing in these tournaments.

Even from when I was an amateur, I played a couple of Desert Classics as an amateur, as well. So I've been coming here for, geez, over 20 years, I guess, at this point.

It's a place I'm comfortable. I made a lot of friends here along the way, and you know, I'm always excited start my year in Dubai.

Q. Maybe not at your brilliant paste this week but do you think your head and game are in the right place to take advantage of this opportunity tomorrow?

RORY McILROY: I was looking at this week as honestly a bit of a practice week going into the Desert Classic next week, just to shake off a little bit of the rust. But it's great to go into a final round tomorrow in contention and have a chance to win a tournament.

So I'll learn a lot about -- I've learned a lot about my game over the last three days but I think any time that you're at the business end of proceedings on the final day, you learn a lot about your game. Tomorrow will be a good day for me. Just to know what to maybe focus on going into the Desert Classic next week, as well.