DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy’s stellar year came to an end with an exciting finish on Sunday. Although he managed an eagle on the last hole to force a playoff, Matt Fitzpatrick took the victory at the World Tour Championship, earning his third title in the tournament.
Despite the defeat, McIlroy secured his fourth consecutive Race to Dubai title, solidifying himself as the best European player of the year. This achievement adds to his victories at the Masters, where he completed the career Grand Slam, the Players Championship, and the Irish Open, his home tournament. Furthermore, McIlroy contributed to the European team’s victory in the Ryder Cup.
All of his great individual victories were defined in playoffs, but this time, luck was not on his side. After sending his tee shot into the water on the first playoff hole, number 18, McIlroy made bogey. Fitzpatrick, for his part, made par, securing the victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
“Obviously, you never like how it ends, but I’m delighted,” Fitzpatrick declared after his first victory in two years.
Matt FitzpatrickMcIlroy generated great excitement by sinking a 15-foot putt for eagle on the 18th hole, completing a round of 67 strokes, five under par, and tying Fitzpatrick (66) with 18 under par for the week. He had already achieved an eagle on the last hole of the Irish Open in September, forcing a playoff and defeating Joakim Lagergren.
“In Rory’s way, he did it again,” commented Fitzpatrick, who observed the situation from the scoring booth. He met with McIlroy outside, shaking his hand and giving him a hug.
Matt Fitzpatrick
For McIlroy, this is his seventh Race to Dubai title, surpassing Seve Ballesteros and being one short of Colin Montgomerie’s record.
“I didn’t get that far in my dreams, so it’s great,” said McIlroy, who revealed that he spoke with Carmen, Ballesteros’s wife, before his Sunday round.
Rory McIlroy
“It seems within reach now. I would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of Order of Merit and season races. I probably have a few good years left and I hope I can reach it and surpass it,” he added.Matt Fitzpatrick se impuso a Rory McIlroy para ganar el World Tour Championship por tercera vez, mientras que McIlroy se llevó su cuarto título consecutivo y séptimo en total de la Race to Dubai. Ross Kinnaird/Getty ImagesThe competition in the Earth course was intense, with nine players leading or sharing the lead at different times. Fitzpatrick managed three birdies in his last five holes to beat McIlroy and other European stars like Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg.
A 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole gave Fitzpatrick a one-shot lead over Fleetwood (67), Åberg (66) and Laurie Canter (67), and two over McIlroy, who needed an eagle at that moment.
McIlroy hit a fairway wood from about 230 meters, making a good putt and sinking the eagle.
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, had a slow start to the season but finished strongly, securing a place in the Ryder Cup thanks to his results at the British Masters, the European Masters, and the BMW PGA Championship in September. In the Ryder Cup, he earned 2.5 points in his four matches.
“To turn it around in the summer like I did and to have a Ryder Cup like I had, I feel like it’s hard to top, given everything. But the way I played today, I feel like I didn’t really hit a bad shot all day. I’m very proud of myself, of the effort everyone puts in behind the scenes. Yeah, what a feeling,” Fitzpatrick stated.
