Sunday 1 February 2015 16:43, UK
Rory McIlroy admitted he was happy to take the safe route to completing a comfortable three-shot victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The world No 1 plotted his way cautiously round the Majlis Course at The Emirates on the final day, and a solid two-under 70 was more than enough to secure his fourth win in his last seven starts in a European Tour event.
McIlroy, who led by four overnight, was content to grind out the pars while picking up shots at three of the par-fives, and his only mistake of the day - at the seventh - was just his second bogey of the tournament.
The 25-year-old almost opened the door for the field at the 12th and the 17th but on both occasions held his composure to save par from 10 feet and continue a relentless march towards his second Dubai title (McIlroy's first victory in a professional event came at the same venue in 2009.)
Alex Noren closed with a seven-under 65 for the second week running, but McIlroy made sure he had plenty in hand coming down the stretch as he closed out his 10th European Tour success.
McIlroy, who has been runner-up in the three tournaments he hasn't won in his last seven starts, told Sky Sports 4: "It is always great coming back here, it is nice to put my name on trophy once again.
Tentative start
"I felt like I was finishing second every time I was teeing it up, so it was time for a change, obviously the only way I wanted to go was one better and thankfully I was able to do that today.
"I played very nicely all week, and I did what I needed to do today. I felt like I was a little tentative the first few holes out there. I guess we’ve seen what can happen to big leads over the last few weeks and I was conscious of that and making sure that I wasn’t making any mistakes.
"It was a bit of a cruise control out there. I knew if I just went out there and played a solid round of golf, especially getting here and seeing that the breeze was up, it was going to be difficult for anyone to really put together a low score, especially on that front nine.
"So, I just wanted to keep my ball in play and not really make any mistakes and try and pick off some birdies when I could on the par-fives and I stuck to my game plan very well. I made good, committed, aggressive swings to where I wanted to hit it.
I felt like I was finishing second every time I was teeing it up, so it was time for a change
"I didn’t play quite as well as the first three days but I played a solid round of golf and kept my nose in front. It wasn't the best round that I've played this year but I got the job done and that's the most important thing."
Noren continued his impressive comeback from an injury-ravaged 2014 season, in which he was restricted to only two starts after suffering with tendinitis in both wrists.
"It was an amazing day, an amazing week," said Noren, who finished ninth in Qatar last week. "I missed it so much. It was really nice. I never, ever thought of winning. Rory is playing so good, I was just trying to get a nice finish.
"I started well but didn't really play that well around nine. And then I got a birdie on 10, which felt nice. A little bit slower after that but then really got it going. So it was just a lovely day, lovely finish and lovely start.
"I just tried to keep making birdies and keep up with the other guys."
