Matt Fitzpatrick overcame Rory McIlroy to win in Dubai. Getty
Matt Fitzpatrick defied a dramatic late fightback from Rory McIlroy to clinch his third DP World Tour Championship win in Dubai.
McIlroy sunk an eagle on the final hole to force a play-off but came up short second time around to hand his Ryder Cup team-mate victory.
It marked a thrilling conclusion to a campaign which earned McIlroy his seventh Race to Dubai title, one behind record holder Colin Montgomerie.
Fitzpatrick had started the final day among a group of six players who were one shot behind McIlroy and fellow joint leader, Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
He put himself in pole position for victory after landing a birdie on the final hole to complete a bogey-free round of 66 to leave both McIlroy and Neergaard-Petersen requiring eagles to force a play-off.
While the Dane faltered, the Northern Irishman sunk his putt from around 15 feet to extend the tournament into extra time – but it was Fitzpatrick who prevailed after both players missed the green with their respective approach shots.
Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports: “He [McIlroy] is one of only a few where you know you are going to a play-off. You are two clear with one to play and you know you are going to a play-off because he did it again in typical Rory fashion.
“I struggled at the start of the year obviously and to turn it round in the summer like I did, have the Ryder Cup like I did which is hard to top but the way I played today — there was one bad shot all day. So proud of myself.”
Tommy Fleetwood was in a group of four players, including Neergaard-Petersen, who tied for third place after a final round 67, while Tyrrell Hatton, the only man to start the final day with a faint hope of denying McIlroy the Road to Dubai title, fell away to finish in a share of 14th.
McIlroy expressed some degree of disappointment, having started the final round in style and moving clear at the top of the leaderboard after going four-under through the first seven holes.
But he expressed pride at surpassing the late Seve Ballesteros — a six-time Race to Dubai winner — and set his sights on catching and surpassing Montgomerie.
He said: “It’s amazing, I had a conversation with Carmen [Ballesteros’ ex wife] before I went out to play today and she told me how proud he would have been.
“I want it [eight titles], of course I do. I was the first European to win the Grand Slam and I would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of the Order of Merit and season long races.”
