McIlroy had already three-putted from two feet on 14 but still managed to arrive at the 18th tee on Sunday with a one-shot lead over his Ryder Cup teammate Fleetwood – and he pulled his drive into the water.

Fleetwood followed by finding the middle of the fairway and hit his approach to 16 feet, well inside McIlroy after the World No.2 had to take a drop.

McIlroy missed his winding uphill par putt and Fleetwood made his for birdie to shoot 67 for 19-under 265 overall – securing a first win since the Nedbank Golf Challenge in November 2022.

He was a stroke clear of McIlroy (67), who tied for second place with Thriston Lawrence (64) in the first DP World Tour event of 2024.

RELATED: The clubs Fleetwood used to win

"First week back out, I think you're going to expect some of those sloppy mistakes and, unfortunately for me, those mistakes came at the wrong time today," McIlroy said following his runner-up finish.

McIlroy smiled and gave Fleetwood a big hug on the 18th green after missing out on a first victory since the Scottish Open in July. They are close friends and were playing partners in Europe's Ryder Cup win last year.

"I'm very happy. It is amazing, winning. Like almost everybody else in the world of golf, I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like to, but just that winning feeling is great." – Tommy Fleetwood.

McIlroy had started the day a stroke back from Fleetwood, was three behind after the 10th but four birdies in a five-hole stretch – either side of that unfathomable three-putt on the par-3 14th – put him in a tie with Fleetwood.

After a sloppy bogey at 16, Fleetwood holed a birdie putt from 30 feet at the 17th to stay within one shot of McIlroy and then capitalised on his playing partner's worst swing of the day on the 18th tee.

"It was great watching one of the world's best golfers in Rory, the way that he was playing the back nine, the way that he attacked the back nine," Fleetwood said.

"And yeah, just up-and-down towards the end, really.

"I'm very happy. It is amazing, winning. Like almost everybody else in the world of golf, I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like to, but just that winning feeling is great."