Betfacts / Joe Dyer / 01 February 2009 / Leave a comment

Teenager suffers major wobbles before landing Dubai Desert Classic on the 18th.

Teneage golfing prodigy Rory McIlroy won his maiden European Tour event with a one-shot victory at the Dubai Desert Classic today.

The 19-year-old was backed at a high of [44.0] on Betfair as he led from start to finish to claim the win he had been threatening throughout a hot start to the season.

But he threatened to blow up in horrible fashion, turning a five shot lead into an advantage of just one before messing up the 18th to give his backers at [1.03] the jitters.

Left with a short pitch across water to the green, McIlroy fired into a bunker before escaping with a magnificent lay up to leave a four foot putt for victory.

Nearest competitor Justin Rose was backed at [120.0] in early trading and touched a low of [3.0]. Rose was backed at a high of [22.5] to record a top five finish.