Rory McIlroy says his sixth place finish in Dubai is tinged with a sense of regret.

Danny Willett won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, finishing on 19-under to claim the €402, 670 first prize.

McIlroy finished four shots further back but has been left ruing a second round 72 as he came within striking distance of the lead. 

"It's sort of a week of 'what could have been'. There was a lot of really good golf in there. I played a lot of great shots and made a lot of birdies. But I made just a few too many mistakes," he told Nick Dye of the European Tour.

"I'll rue the two front-nines I played on Friday and Saturday. I played the combined front-nine on 5-over par there and if I hadn't have done that, things could have been different. But I'm encouraged by the good golf that I've played and it's been good because I know what I need to work on heading into the next few weeks."