The internal OB rule for hole No. 13 was, in fact, listed at the bottom of the rules sheet, which the official showed to Bhatia. The lefthander had to replay his shot from the trees, following a penalty stroke, and played up the 13 th fairway. He then hit a fairway metal to 10 feet but two-putted for double bogey.

If Rory McIlroy is to emulate the history of the likes of Ernie Els and Sir Nick Faldo, he will have to repeat his own history here at the Desert Classic.

Rory McIlroy is making his 2025 debut in the desert. He will be joined by Jon Rahm, Akshay Bhatia, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed, Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Scott and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

David Ford, a 22-year-old American amateur making his debut on the European tour, upstaged Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and many of the world's top players at the Dubai Desert Classic to take a share of the first-round clubhouse lead Thursday.

Tom McKibben, who was warned by Rory McIlroy against joining the LIV Tour this week, is in contention at the Dubai Desert Classic, heading into the weekend's action.

RORY McIlroy began his hunt for a record fifth Hero Dubai Desert Classic title with a decent opening round of 70. The world number three described his performance as “scrappy” as he sits

Leading second-round scores from the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic on Friday (par 72; GBR & IRL unless stated):

Hero Dubai Desert Classic has a cutline after 36 holes. The DP World Tour event kicked off with its inaugural round on Thursday, January 16. After two rounds, it will have a cutline.

Kiwi Dan Hillier fired a seven-under 65 to sit second after two rounds at the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. The world No. 223 scored five birdies and an eagle during a bogey-free second round to surge up the leaderboard and hold the lead until Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson also shot 65 to take the lead at 12-under.

Fortune favours Ewen Ferguson as Scot surges into Dubai Desert Classic lead - A lucky bounce off the grandstand on the 18th helped Ferguson head the field by a stroke, but Jon Rahm missed the cut

We take a closer look at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic 2025 prize money pool along with the tournament's schedule, venue and more.