DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Nacho Elvira benefited from dramatic errors on the final hole by Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to win the Dubai Invitational by one stroke on Sunday, securing his third title on the European Tour. Elvira, ranked 190th, achieved what the two Ryder Cup stars couldn’t and avoided trouble on the 18th hole, making a stress-free par and scoring 69 to finish 10 under par in the first tournament of 2026. A few minutes earlier, Lowry was at that number as he reached the final hole, but he found the bunker next to the green from the middle of the fairway, and then water from the sand. He made a double bogey 6 for a round of 69 and finished two strokes behind. Before that, McIlroy reached the 18th tee one shot behind Lowry, but pushed his drive to the right, sending his approach to the bunker and couldn’t get up and down. McIlroy and Lowry tied for third place. Daniel Hillier, from New Zealand, scored 65 and finished alone in second place at 9 under par.
Elvira began the final round at the top and maintained a three-stroke lead at 11 under par after making birdie on the 7th hole. Then came consecutive bogeys from the 8th hole before saving par on the par 5 of the 10th hole after hitting the water from his second shot, keeping him in contact with Lowry, McIlroy and a crowd of competitors.“It means a lot to me,” said Elvira, whose wife and children ran onto the green to celebrate with the Spaniard. “If they had told me on Tuesday that I would win this, I would never have believed it.
Nacho Elvira
Approximately one hour before the end, five players, Hillier, McIlroy, Lowry, Marcus Armitage and Elvira, shared the lead with 9 under par before Lowry holed a 30-foot putt for birdie on the 15th hole and took the solo lead. He couldn’t hold it.
