Rory McIlroy admitted the win meant more than it should have after he kept his emotions in check and birdied the 18th to hold off Patrick Reed at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Tied with clubhouse leader Reed on 18-under playing the last, the Holywood star came within inches of disaster when his drive stopped inches from the lake protecting the hole.

Having found water on the last 12 months earlier to hand the title to Viktor Hovland and again on Sunday to give the chasing pack hope, McIlroy decided to lay up and his decision paid off.

He admitted seeing Reed chasing him made it all the sweeter, though he didn’t name the American in his post-round comments after a week marred by Tee-Gate and then Tree-Gate controversies, both involving Reed.

“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I've ever had to play,” McIlroy said after carding a 68 to Reed’s 65 to win by a shot on 19-under.  

“It would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really really well.

“You know, I feel like I showed a lot of mental strength out there today and that's something to really build on for the rest of the year.

“Look, there's been a tonne of positives this week but there's also been some things that I need to learn from and I need to try to improve on so look I'm going to enjoy this.

“This is probably sweeter than it than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on and as I said it's a great start to the year and  a really good foundation to work from.”

As for his good fortune at the last, he admitted he wasn’t going to be tempted into going for the green from a difficult lie from 225 yards.

“You know, I was in two minds, I probably could have got to the green but obviously, with what happened yesterday and what happened last year, I tried to give myself a wedge and get it up and down to try to get the win,” he said.

“Honestly, I feel like I got lucky that my ball didn't go in the water off the tee shot I you know it's such an awkward tee shot for me.

“Driver's too much and three wood is not quite enough so I tried to hit a sort of easy driver and it came out really hot and  I was lucky for it not to go in the water. But I really only had one choice.  

“I needed to lay up try to get it up and down that way and you know I said yesterday with the two balls in the water on Sunday last year and then yesterday you know fool me once shame on me fool me twice ... I wasn't going to get fooled  the third time so yeah,  it was nice to be able to play the percentages and make it pay off.”

McIlroy’s first Rolex Series wins sees him match Pádraig Harrington with 15 DP World Tour wins.

“It means a lot,” he said after winning with his B game. “It's actually funny. Harry said to me, finally we get a gold bib. Obviously, we haven't won one of these big ones before. So yeah,it was a battle all day. Honestly, it's been a battle all week.

“I really feel like I haven't had my best all week. But I just managed my game so well and played really smart.

“So just you know, ecstatic, I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and as I said, I managed my game well. I definitely feel like there's tonnes of room for improvement. But it's a it's a great start to the year.”

It’s the first time McIlroy has started his year with a win and it provided an exciting end to a week of controversies that began when McIlroy refused to acknowledge Reed, whose lawyers subpoenaed him on Christmas Eve, when the American approached him on the range to say hello.  

Reed reacted to being ignored by tossing a LIV-branded tee in McIlroy’s direction and after the Co Down accused him of being disingenuous if he was expecting “a hello or a handshake”, the American responded by labelling the world number one “an immature little child”.   

They avoided each other in the draw all week though McIlroy was standing on the tee behind when the American got a controversial drop on the 17th hole on Sunday.

Reed’s drive got stuck in a palm tree and he identified it as his using binoculars though replays later suggested his ball finished in another palm tree slightly further from the green.

Reed was cleared by rules officials to take an unplayable under the tree where he identified his ball rather than return to the tee to play his third.

The 2018 Masters champion later insisted he was “100 per cent” sure it was his ball, as it had markings he always used.