McIlroy clinches seventh overall title, as Fitzpatrick wins in Dubai

DP World Tour Championship - final leaderboard

-18 M Fitzpatrick (Eng)*, R McIlroy (NI)

Selected: -17 R Neergaard-Petersen (Den), T Fleetwood (Eng), L Canter (Eng), L Aberg (Swe); -15 R Hojgaard (Den); -14 R MacIntyre (Sco); -12 T Hatton (Eng), J Rose (Eng); -9 M Penge (Eng)

* denotes won via play-off

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"I did not get this far in my dream."

It has been quite the year for Rory McIlroy and despite being beaten to the DP World Tour Championship title by Matt Fitzpatrick, the emotion of his achievements in 2025 came spilling out on Sunday.

Completing the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April was the highlight of four victories that included Pebble Beach in February, the prestigious Players Championship in March and the Irish Open in September.

There was also a starring role in helping Europe win a first Ryder Cup in the United States since 2012 amid tumultuous scenes at Bethpage Black in New York.

And the Northern Irishman has ended the season by clinching a seventh Race to Dubai title, his fourth in succession. It eclipses Spaniard Seve Ballesteros' tally of six and leaves him one behind Colin Montgomerie's record of winning the European tour's season-long race eight times.

"I had a conversation with Carmen [Ballesteros' former wife] before I went out to play and she told me how proud he would have been," said an emotional McIlroy on Sky Sports, his voice choking up as he held back the tears.

"He means so much to this Tour and the European Ryder Cup team. We rally so much around his spirit, his quotes and everything he meant for European golf.

"To surpass him this year, I did not get this far in my dream."

And on chasing Scotsman Montgomerie's record, he added: "I want it. 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 season-long races."

Fitzpatrick clinches third title in Dubai

Ryder Cup team-mates Fitzpatrick and McIlroy both ended up winning on Sunday in Dubai

For a long time on Sunday it looked like McIlroy would also win the final event of the DP World Tour's season, holding a two-shot lead midway through the round before faltering down the stretch with bogeys on the 12th and 16th holes seeing him drop out of the lead.

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, was serenely putting together a bogey-free round of 66. Three birdies in the opening five holes were followed by a run of eight pars before three birdies in his final five holes, including one on the last, thrust the 2022 US Open champion into the lead on 18 under par.

That left McIlroy and his playing partner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen needing to hole eagle putts on the last to force a play-off. Neergaard-Petersen missed from around 20 feet.

McIlroy learned the line and holed his 15-footer. And, as he did when also draining an eagle to get into a play-off at the Irish Open in September, he punched the air and roared with delight.

Fitzpatrick was waiting for McIlroy as he left the green and the pair shared a warm embrace before joking with each other, in moments that epitomised the closeness of the European Ryder Cup players, as they boarded buggies to head back down the 18th for the sudden death play-off.

But unlike in Ireland, McIlroy was unable to build on the momentum, instead handing Fitzpatrick the advantage by hitting his tee shot into water and then failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker as he posted a six.

Fitzpatrick, who played the hole more conservatively, was also off the green after three shots, but played a delightful chip - with McIlroy saying "shot, Fitz" in appreciation - and tapped in for a five.

"It means the world," said the beaming Englishman who overcame poor form early in 2025 to qualify for the Ryder Cup team and finish the year on a high with his first victory in two years.

"I struggled at the start of the year and to turn it round in the summer and have the Ryder Cup I did is hard to top, but the way I played today, there was one bad shot all day.

"I'm so proud of myself. The effort everyone puts in behind the scenes. What a feeling."

Penge finishes second in overall standings

This was far from just McIlroy and Fitzpatrick duking it out for the title though as the tension built on the back nine and in the closing stages four players shared the lead, with the real possibility of a six-way play-off.

Neergaard-Petersen looked to have played himself out of contention with four bogeys outweighing three birdies in his opening 12 holes, but he picked up five shots in his closing five holes and was inches away from getting into the play-off, his 68 leaving him on 17 under.

English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Laurie Canter also finished on that number.

Five birdies on the back nine catapulted the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup champion Fleetwood into contention, while Canter's 67 was built on a platform of four birdies in his opening seven holes.

Ludvig Aberg's 66 matched Fitzpatrick as the lowest of the final round as he too reached 17 under, while his 45-year-old playing partner Justin Rose, who holds the course record of 62 at the Earth Course in Dubai, started strongly and was in contention midway through the round.

Rose, beaten by McIlroy in a play-off at the Masters, drained a 50-foot birdie putt on the sixth before almost holing his second on the par-five seventh as he improved to 15 under. Nine pars followed though before he finished bogey-double bogey.

Also needing to force the issue was Tyrrell Hatton, the only player who could realistically stop McIlroy from winning the Race to Dubai crown. Hatton needed a victory to stand any chance but two bogeys in his opening three holes set the tone for a scrambling level-par 72.

And Marco Penge, the Englishman who has had a breakthrough 2025 with three victories on the DP World Tour, finished off with his best round of the tournament. Penge also started the week with a chance of usurping McIlroy, but illness derailed his challenge.

A closing 67, for a nine under total, did, however, ensure he finished runner-up to McIlroy in the Race to Dubai standings. That also secured him one of 10 PGA Tour cards for next season as part of the strategic alliance between the European and American-based tours.

Fellow Englishmen Canter, John Parry and Jordan Smith have also attained membership, while Neergaard-Petersen's strong finish also secured a spot.