Tyrrell Hatton claimed the DP World Tour Championship with a closing 66 on Sunday, but Rory McIlroy left Dubai with a prize of his own: an eighth season-long title to draw level with Colin Montgomerie’s tour record.
Hatton finished at 15-under-par 273 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, five strokes ahead of McIlroy, whose final-round 67 proved enough to win the Race to Dubai ahead of Eugenio Chacarra.
The Spaniard shared third place with Finland’s Oliver Lindell at eight under. Chacarra closed with 69 and Lindell with 65, according to the DP World Tour’s final-round release.
Hatton pulls clear
Hatton began the day one shot in front and gave his challengers little opportunity to close the gap. Seven birdies outweighed a bogey at the fourth as the Englishman secured his ninth DP World Tour victory.
The result also brought him a sixth Rolex Series title, matching Jon Rahm’s tally. Rahm had won in Abu Dhabi a week earlier, with Hatton second.
Dubai had previously brought Hatton runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2022. This time, his final round settled the tournament while the contest for the season title continued behind him.
McIlroy holds off Chacarra
Chacarra arrived with a 534-point advantage in the Race to Dubai, and the lead in the projected standings changed hands during the final round.
A run of three bogeys in four holes from the ninth hurt the Spaniard’s chances, but birdies at the 13th and 14th put him back ahead in the projected rankings.
McIlroy responded with a birdie at the 16th after an approach to within a foot, then finished with two pars. Chacarra needed an eagle at the par-five last to overtake him; his second shot found a greenside bunker and he finished with par.
“So to pull up alongside him and to win eight of these things means the world to me,” McIlroy said of matching Montgomerie, in comments supplied by the tour.
Chacarra finished second in the season standings and led the ten players earning PGA Tour cards for next season. Patrick Reed, Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, Dan Hillier, Jacob Skov Olesen, Lindell, Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger and Joe Dean secured the remaining cards.
The outcome brought a decisive finish to the contest that had taken shape ahead of Sunday’s final round: Hatton took the tournament trophy, while McIlroy secured the season crown.
