Nacho Elvira captured his third European tour title at the Dubai Invitational on Sunday, finishing at 10 under par after Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both faltered dramatically on the final hole.
The 190th-ranked Spaniard kept his composure down the 18th, making a routine par to secure a one-shot victory in the opening tournament of 2026. Elvira’s steady 69 in the final round was enough to hold off Daniel Hillier of New Zealand, who shot a 65 to finish alone in second at 9 under.
Lowry, who held the lead heading to the last hole, found a greenside bunker with his approach, then hit his third shot into the water across the green. The resulting double-bogey dropped him to 8 under, tied with McIlroy for third place.
McIlroy’s chances unraveled just as quickly at the 18th. One shot behind Lowry at the time, he pushed his drive into the rough, found the bunker with his approach, and couldn’t save par.
“It means the world,” said Elvira, whose wife and children rushed onto the green to celebrate with the 38-year-old. “You tell me on Tuesday I would be winning this, I’d never believe you. Anything that happens after this, nothing can compare.”
Rollercoaster Final Round
Elvira began the day with the lead and built a three-shot cushion after a birdie at the 7th put him at 11 under. But back-to-back bogeys at 8 and 9 tightened the race. He then saved a crucial par at the 10th after finding water with his second shot, keeping him in the mix.
With about an hour left in the tournament, five players shared the lead at 9 under – Hillier, McIlroy, Lowry, Marcus Armitage and Elvira. Lowry then drained a 30-footer for birdie at the 15th to take the solo lead, but couldn’t maintain it down the stretch.
Elvira admitted he was unaware of Lowry’s collapse until after his second shot at the last hole.
“I knew I had two putts to win — I kind of felt more nervous, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a good position to be in but I was just a little bit nervous. But very happy.”
Lowry was looking for his first European tour victory since September 2022 and first win anywhere since teaming with McIlroy to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April 2024.
McIlroy’s Charge Falls Short
McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world, made a characteristic surge with five consecutive birdies starting at the 9th to grab a share of the lead. But he played the final five holes in 1 over, including the costly bogey at 18.
“I wasn’t really focused on winning the tournament,” McIlroy said. “I was just trying to piece it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part. Would have been nice to hit the fairway at the last to give myself a chance for birdie there.”
Despite the disappointing finish, McIlroy found positives in his first event of the year.
“Overall it was a good first week back. I felt like I learned a lot of stuff about my game. I wasn’t very sharp, but hopefully I’m a little bit sharper going into next week than I was going into this week.”
Next Stop
The European tour stays in Dubai for its next event, moving just a half-hour up the coastline to Emirates Golf Club for the Dubai Desert Classic, which begins Thursday.
