Tag: Dubai Invitational

Club pro at Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII finishes 72 strokes behind winner on DP World Tour in Dubai

Ken Weyand made just two birdies all week in Dubai.

Unless you were diligently watching the DP World Tour’s 2024 opener or you’ve played Michael Jordan’s exclusive golf club, Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound, Florida, chances are you’ve never heard of Ken Weyand.

Weyand is listed online as the President/GM/Director of Golf for Grove XXIII and has served in that position since November 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile. This week he played in the 2024 Dubai Invitational – a 60-player, no-cut event – as a sponsor invite and made quite the name for himself. The 54-year-old club pro faired about as well as one can expect against a field of professionals and shot rounds of 87-82-82-86 to finish in dead last at 53 over, a whopping 72 strokes behind winner Tommy Fleetwood. Sweden’s Jens Dantorp finished 59th at 14 over, 39 shots clear of Weyand in last. He made just two birdies all week.

Never afraid to share his mind, Eddie Pepperell took to social media to share his displeasure with the sponsor selection’s performance, writing “I don’t care if he’s Ken from Barbie, it shouldn’t happen.”

Earlier in the week, Weyand’s playing partner Richard Mansell dished on what it was like to play with the struggling invitee.

“Yeah, it’s been a tricky few days and I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t distracting,” Mansell said. “Look, I saw what Eddie posted and I’ve read a few more comments and I can understand where they’re coming from. But the way I look at it is that without the sponsor, this tournament doesn’t happen. So for their special two invites, or whatever they got this week, they can invite who they want, I suppose. That’s golf. I do feel for Matty Jordan, though.”

Mansell was referencing Matthew Jordan, the home club kid who put on a show at last year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, who was first on the reserve list for the Dubai Invitational.

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Tommy Fleetwood tops Rory McIlroy with birdie-birdie finish to win 2024 Dubai Invitational

Fleetwood beat McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence by a shot at the DP World Tour’s 2024 opener.

What a way to start 2024 on the DP World Tour.

The European-based circuit was back in action this week at Dubai Creek Resort with the 2024 Dubai Invitational, a no-cut, 60-player field event that come Sunday featured a three-way fight for the win.

Thriston Lawrence took the clubhouse lead at 18 under with a bogey-free 7-under 64 in the final round, but it was Rory McIlroy (67) who had all the momentum on the back nine after five birdies over his final eight holes. The four-time major champion stood on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead over Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood (67) and proceeded to rinse his tee shot in the water left of the fairway, which led to a costly bogey that tied him with Lawrence at 18 under. Just as he did on the 17th, Fleetwood birdied the last to win the tournament by one at 19 under.

The victory is his seventh on the DP World Tour and first since the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge.

MORE: European pros dish on Keith Pelley leaving DP World Tour

“It’s great, that winning feeling is amazing, and it’s been a really cool week. Felt like I played better and better throughout the week,” said Fleetwood. “Had a great day yesterday, and then today, playing with Rory and coming down the stretch in contention and trying to win a golf tournament was really, really cool.”

“It’s always very special when you play with one of your friends, one of the best players in the world. Challenging yourself against those guys, like I said just before, Rory’s been a very, very supportive influence on me over the past, since I’ve been him, really, but since we’ve been close,” he continued. “I’ve watched him do amazing things down the stretch in golf tournaments, and today was my turn.”

Despite the disappointing finish after starting the event with a 9-under 62 on Thursday, McIlroy said his first start of the year was “really positive.”

“I think first week back out, I think you’re going to expect some of those sloppy mistakes, and unfortunately for me, those mistakes came at the wrong time today,” said McIlroy, referencing his water ball on the 18th tee. “But you know, I’ll reflect on it and learn from today, and there’s still a lot of good stuff in there. But just need to tidy up some of the edges, and if I do that, I feel good going into next week.”

The DP World Tour will remain in the UAE for another week with the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, Jan. 18-21.

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Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy set up for Sunday duel at the Dubai Invitational

Sunday is going to be a good one.

The same name was atop the leaderboard at the Dubai Invitational after the first two rounds — Rory McIlroy. But thanks to an 8-under 63 on Saturday, Tommy Fleetwood (15 under) holds a one-shot lead over the Northern Irishman at Dubai Creek Resort.

Fleetwood carded eight birdies during the third round, including a stretch of three straight on the back nine from Nos. 12-14.

“That little patch through the middle of the back nine, really, where you just start seeing putts going in, it’s funny, really, when you get a day like that and you’re just looking at them and you just feel like you can come close,” Fleetwood told the media after signing his card.

“So, yeah, nice day to be out on the course.”

Dubai Invitational: Leaderboard

Fleetwood, who tied for 47th last week at the PGA Tour’s The Sentry, last claimed victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December 2022.

Tommy Fleetwood of England and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hug after their thirds round of the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on January 13, 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

World No. 2 McIlroy (14 under) traded a birdie for a bogey on his front nine, making the turn with a even-par 35 on Saturday. However, he turned it on on the back nine, making four birdies coming home including three straight from Nos. 11-13.

“It was a bit of a slow start again,” McIlroy said. “You know, I — yeah, it was a little bit of a slow start, but then I got things going on the back nine.

“Shot 4-under on the back to try to keep up with Tommy. And, you know, played well that back nine and earned myself a tee time with him tomorrow, and it’ll be good fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

McIlroy and Fleetwood teamed up at the 2023 Ryder Cup on two occasions going 2-0 with wins against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in Friday morning foursomes, and Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in Saturday morning foursomes.

Thorbjorn Olesen is alone in third at 12 under, while Jordan Smith, Thriston Lawrence and Zander Lombard are tied for fourth at 11 under.

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Rory McIlroy holds two-shot lead at Dubai Invitational, talks Keith Pelley’s departure: ‘I’m happy for him’

“I felt like I did well just to get my head back into it and play some solid golf on the way in.”

Rory McIlroy loves this time of year. The Northern Irishman has finished inside the top 5 in his first event of the year 13 of the last 15 years, including a win at the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Well, he’s at it again two rounds into the Dubai Invitational where he holds a two-shot lead over Yannik Paul and Jeff Winther at 10 under. McIlroy scorched Dubai Creek Resort on Thursday, signing for a 9-under 62, but Friday was a bit of a different story.

After two birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to start his day, McIlroy stumbled on the par-3 8th, settling for a devastating quadruple-bogey seven. After making the turn with a 2-over 37, McIlroy birdied Nos. 10, 13 and 16 coming home to get back into red figures for the day, signing for a 1-under 70.

Dubai Invitational: Leaderboard

“Yeah, I think if I look at the other 17 holes that I played, I played very, very well again. Hit some good iron shots,” McIlroy told the media after his round.

“Played not too dissimilarly to the way I played yesterday. I may be held a couple more putts yesterday. But the conditions were getting a little trickier. Wind was up. Greens were firm and a couple miscues on the 8th hole.

“I felt like I did well just to get my head back into it and play some solid golf on the way in.”

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees off on the fifth hole during the second round of the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on January 12, 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, TSN reported that DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is leaving his post for a job with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, as well as the city’s MLS and Canadian Football League franchises.

More: European pros react to Pelley news

“First, I’m happy for him. I think the job he’s going to is one that he’s probably wanted for a long, long time, being from Canada, especially Toronto and be able to run two major sports in Toronto, the hockey team and the basketball team, I think is a wonderful opportunity for Keith,” McIlroy said when asked about Pelley’s departure.

“So I’m happy for him in that regard.”

McIlroy, who trails only Scottie Scheffler in the Official World Golf Ranking, last won at the 2023 Scottish Open.

He’ll have a chance to capitalize at his first start of the year once again this weekend.

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Rory McIlroy ‘didn’t expect that’ with opening 62 at Dubai Invitational to begin 2024

“Yeah, surprised myself a little bit but hopefully more of the same over the next few days.”

It’s hard to imagine Rory McIlroy could’ve had a better start to his 2024 on the course than he had Thursday.

The 34-year-old Northern Irishman fired a bogey-free 9-under 62 to take a two-shot lead after the opening round at the DP World Tour’s Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort. Nine birdies, nine pars, and McIlroy leads by two over Yannik Paul after the opening 18 holes.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect that,” McIlroy said after his round. “It didn’t feel quite as good as that the first couple of days when I was here and hitting balls and playing the course. But it was nice to get a card in the hand again and sort of feel the competitive juices flowing. It was a really comfortable group. I really like playing with Ryan and the two amateurs we had.

“So it was a very comfortable pairing and round of golf out there. Yeah, surprised myself a little bit but hopefully more of the same over the next few days.”

Among his nine birdies included a stretch where McIlroy birdied six of eight holes. He also closed his day on the front nine, birdieing Nos. 7 and 9. He gained 4.15 strokes approaching the greens and 2.82 on the greens Thursday.

“It’s a very easy way to sort of get back into things, and this is a nice week to do some extra practice and put some work in so that, you know, I feel a bit more ready not just for next week, which is obviously a bigger event, but also going into the bulk of the season,” he said.

Tommy Fleetwood, who played last week in Hawaii at the PGA Tour’s The Sentry at Kapalua, shot 5-under 66 in his opening round and sits T-4.

McIlroy is making his first start this week since the DP World Tour Championship back in November, where he finished T-22 at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. He’s also in the field next week at the Dubai Desert Classic, one of the bigger events of the season on the DP World Tour.

McIlroy is confirmed in the field at next month’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California, though it’s unclear whether he’ll make his PGA Tour debut before the signature event on the Monterey Peninsula.

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Rory McIlroy explains why the U.S. is crucial to his ‘dream scenario’ global tour

“We’d have, say, a 22-event schedule. That would look pretty good to me.”

Rory McIlroy may no longer be a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board, but that hasn’t stopped the four-time major champion from game planning what the future of professional could look like with the help of the Strategic Sports Group and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Ahead of his first start of 2024 at the DP World Tour’s Dubai Invitational, McIlroy told Golf Digest on Tuesday he has a “dream scenario” of a global golf tour that reaches across multiple continents but still features a heavy American influence and expanded on the idea with the media at large on Wednesday.

“My dream scenario is a world tour, with the proviso that corporate America has to remain a big part of it all. Saudi Arabia, too. That’s just basic economics,” McIlroy said to Golf Digest. “But there is an untapped commercial opportunity out there. Investors always want to make a return on their money. Revenues at the PGA Tour right now are about $2.3 billion. So how do we get that number up to four or six? To me, it is by looking outward. They need to think internationally and spread their wings a bit. I’ve been banging that drum for a while.”

“I think informally, we sort of have most of that global schedule, anyway,” McIlroy added Wednesday at Dubai Creek Resort. “We still need to make sure that the biggest tournaments are in America; obviously that’s the biggest place that we play. But also trying to elevate some of the other tournaments around the world: You know, trying to, Middle East, Continental Europe, U.K. and Ireland, the Far East, whether it be Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa. I mean, you’ve got a lot of different opportunities there.”

“I think everyone needs to start thinking more globally around it but globally in a holistic way but not really like this tour, that tour and another tour,” he continued. “What is the best structure for elite professional golf, the top 70 to 100 guys in the world and what would that look like, especially if the game is going to look different going forward and everything is on the table. I just think it’s worth having that conversation.”

McIlroy argued the importance of the United States’ involvement given the size and brand of the PGA Tour but admitted the Tour’s large market has kept others from thriving.

“If we can sort of all, start to work together a little bit more, I think a rising tide lifts all ships or all boats, and that’s the mindset that I would, I guess, come to that thinking of what the best thing is for professional golf,” he said.

In a recent interview, McIlroy noted how LIV Golf has “exposed flaws in the system” by taking advantage of players as independent contractors, making it impossible for the Tour to financially compete and difficult for companies to stomach the rising costs of tournament sponsorship. His solution is simple: player contracts.

“When you look at different sports and the media landscape and how much these media companies are paying for sporting events, I think you have to be able to guarantee them the product that they are paying for,” McIlroy explained. “So in my opinion, yeah, I would say that people would have to be contracted and sign up to a certain number of events every year; that the sponsors and media partners know that the guys they want to be there are going to be.”

The SparkNotes version of McIlroy’s plan would put a heavy emphasis on classic U.S. events and national opens, including the Australian Open, with stops in the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan as well as popular European countries. Maybe even the Middle East.

“Throw in the four majors and you have a brilliant schedule for the top 70-100 guys, whatever the number is,” he said. “We’d have, say, a 22-event schedule. That would look pretty good to me.”

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