DP World Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy’s company adds spice for home favourite Adrian Otaegui

Detailed summary

When Rory McIlroy won the first of his back-to-back Masters titles last year, his conversation was famously not up to much.“Didn’t talk to me once all day,” moaned Bryson…

When Rory McIlroy won the first of his back-to-back Masters titles last year, his conversation was famously not up to much.

“Didn’t talk to me once all day,” moaned Bryson DeChambeau, his final round competitor at Augusta in 2025.

Maybe it depends on the playing partner. On Friday, the UAE’s leading golfer, Adrian Otaegui, was paired with the tour’s most recognisable player in the second round of the DP World Tour Championship.

The Spanish-born player is comfortable in McIlroy’s company, having done it a few times previously. And he says he’s the truculent one, not his superstar Friday counterpart.

“When I'm on the course, I'm not very chatty anyway,” Otaegui said. “I like to just focus on my game, but we did chat a little bit. He's always been very nice to chat to.”

Eugenio Chacarra, McIlroy’s main Race to Dubai challenger this week, said ahead of the tournament that the Northern Irishman has played Earth Course “a million times” in the past.

If so, then Otaegui is not far off those numbers himself. He has been resident in Dubai for over 15 years now – hence the switch of nationality two years ago – and regularly practices at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Although his official association is with Goiburu Golf Club in Spain, he knows few courses better than this one in Dubai.

But playing the Friday of the season finale alongside McIlroy makes for a different atmosphere than the usual weekday two-ball on Earth Course.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The National. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.