Cockerill cashes $515K cheque in Dubai

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This article was published 22/01/2024 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba golfer Aaron Cockerill just had the biggest payday of his pro golfing career.

The 31-year-old from Stony Mountain finished in a tie for fourth place at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, four shots back of now four-time champion Rory McIlroy of Ireland.

Cockerill won the equivalent of nearly CDN$515,000 at the Emirates Golf Club in his first DP (European) Tour event of 2024.

That eclipses his previous biggest payday when he cashed in CDN$292,000 after finishing second at the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan last April.

Cockerill fired a 4-under 68 on Sunday to finish 10-under for the 72-hole event, three shots behind Adrian Meronk of Poland and two back of Cameron Young of the United States.

The Manitoban is scheduled to compete this week at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in United Arab Emirates.

McIlroy won the tournament for a record fourth time, completing a remarkable weekend comeback by reeling in Young early in the final round then holding off Meronk down the back nine to secure a one-stroke victory.

McIlroy closed with a 2-under 70 to retain the title at a tournament he first won in 2009 and has captured more than any other in his career. Among his 38 wins as a professional, he had also won the Tour Championship and Wells Fargo Championship three times.

His latest victory at Emirates Golf Club was surely the most unlikely. McIlroy walked to the 18th tee on Friday trailing Young by 11 shots, only to make birdie, shoot 63 on Saturday to get into the final pairing on Sunday and then wipe out the American’s overnight two-stroke lead after just six holes.

The world No. 2 walked down No. 18 leading by one shot — just like at last week’s Dubai Invitational, when he was beaten by Tommy Fleetwood — but this time he didn’t lose it as he closed with a tap-in par for 14-under par overall.

McIlroy made eight pars and a bogey on his back nine, capping what he described as a “very controlled round of golf.”

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“It was one of those days where there wasn’t a ton of fireworks just because the course was so difficult,” he said. “But I held on as best as I could and thankfully no one around the top of the leaderboard made much of a run.”

McIlroy broke a tie with South African great Ernie Els, who had also won the event three times, and has started 2024 with a second and first in Dubai — a place he once called home and with which he still has a strong affinity. After all, he has been coming to Emirates Golf Club since 2006, when he was an amateur and remembers walking inside the ropes following Tiger Woods, Els and Thomas Björn.

“All the great experiences that I’ve had in Dubai and the friends that I’ve met and everything along the way, it’s always been a place where I come back to and reminisce about my career because I really feel like it’s where everything started,” McIlroy said.

The Northern Irishman will head back to the United States and start the long build-up to the Masters, which he needs to win to complete a career grand slam and end a nearly 10-year wait for a fifth major title.

— staff, wire services