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.
“We practice and we play for these kinds of days just, with the crowds and noise,” Otaegui said. “I definitely prefer that rather than just a very quiet day with no spice.”
It was telling of how difficult the conditions have been so far that two players with such a strong affinity with Earth Course struggled on Friday.
McIlroy said “I've been coming to this golf course for 17 years, and this is the toughest I think it's ever played,” after his two-under-par second round of 70.
Otaegui was two-over for the day, to slip back to level par for the tournament, and he agreed with McIlroy’s take.
“It's very different,” Otaegui said. “I think this is probably the most difficult I've seen the Earth Course.
“With the way the rough is, the ball is sitting down a lot, so it's crucial to be on the fairway. When you play on a normal day, it's not like that.
“Strategically, it is very different, but obviously it helps a lot to practice at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Especially in order to know how the greens bounce when you hit from the fairway, it definitely helps to know the course well.”
Otaegui started Saturday tied for 15th. If he finishes that way, it will vault him up four places in the Race to Dubai standings, meaning he would finish 42nd in the order of merit for the season.
Although he said he was satisfied with his position on Friday evening, he acknowledged his score had been undermined by mistakes.
He made a run of three bogeys after the turn in Round 2, which he deemed “silly”.
“I'm happy the way I played and I'm happy the way I fought,” Otaegui said. “I made two silly mistakes. I think I gave two shots away, but it's going to be a long week especially in these conditions.
“It's tough so I'm going need to go one day at a time. I feel like the score could be could have been a little bit better.
“I'm still happy I think I'm still in an OK position for the weekend so let's just keep going.”
