Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy and superstar Niall Horan of One Direction fame were joined by a lucky competition winner for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic Pro Am, after a global competition that saw 29,000 entrants play 260,000 holes of golf over four continents.

19 year old Saoirse Lambe from Dublin won the ultimate golfing package by downloading the VoxGolf app and playing nine holes of golf on a VoxGolf registered course.

As well as joining her golfing hero McIlroy and his fellow Irish star Horan for a round at Emirates Golf Club, Saoirse and her dad enjoyed a seven-night stay in Dubai including flights, plus tickets to each day of the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

She had a wealth of experience by her side as she tackled the Majlis Course, with American professional golfer Paige Spiranac – who is also the Official Starter at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic – taking on caddie duties.

Saoirse also got an insight into McIlroy’s life on tour, as she dropped in on his pre-tournament media conference, toured the clubhouse – where she was given a personalised locker – and spent time warming up on the driving range alongside some of the world’s top golfers.

But the highlight was undoubtedly taking to the course with McIlroy, who won the event in 2009 and 2015, and Horan, who previously caddied for his good friend at the Par Three Contest at Augusta National in 2015.

The number of young – very young – girls who come to European tour events when Niall Horan is playing in pro ams is remarkable. They know nothing about golf, nor want to, but they find their way to the golf club to make a statement like the girl at the top. . A different kind of girls golf rocks..

McIlroy was beaten in the final round by a fantastic performance from Li Haotong of China who finished third in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale