Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the world number two, was crowned the DP World Tour's top player of the season for the seventh time on Sunday, after losing in a playoff in the Dubai final to England's Matt Fitzpatrick.
Although he didn't need to win the tournament to secure the title, as only Englishman Tyrrell Hatton could surpass him, McIlroy wanted to finish the season in style. With an eagle on the 18th hole, he forced a playoff, which Fitzpatrick won. Fitzpatrick had already won in Dubai in 2016 and 2020.
With his new crown, the 36-year-old McIlroy breaks his tie with Spaniard Severiano Ballesteros and moves within one of the record held by Scot Colin Montgomerie, who won eight, mostly in the 1990s.
Following his victories in 2012, 2014, and 2015, the Northern Irishman has now won four more Harry Vardon trophies in a row, allowing him to cap off a historic season and cement his status as one of the greatest European players of all time.
McIlroy, results
In April, he became the sixth player, and the first European, to complete the Grand Slam with his victory at the Masters in Augusta, and in September he won his fourth Ryder Cup in New York.
As the winner of the ranking, known as the Dubai Race, at the end of the season, McIlroy takes home a bonus of 1.7 million, plus another million for his second-place finish in the tournament.
On the final day at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, McIlroy started as the joint leader with Denmarks Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, but with half a dozen players just one stroke behind, foreshadowing a thrilling finish.
The Northern Irishman started strong, carding five birdies in the first eleven holes, but then faltered with two bogeys that seemed to drop him out of contention for the win.
However, his eagle on the 18th, to the astonishment of a crowd captivated by his magic, lifted him to -18 overall and forced a playoff against the 2022 US Open champion and fellow member of the European Ryder Cup team.
McIlroy, on the other hand, struggled in the tiebreak. His first ball landed in the water, forcing him to drop, and his second in the bunker, paving the way for Fitzpatrick to claim his tenth DP World Tour victory and pocket a check for 2.5 million euros.
One stroke behind the leader were the Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Laurie Canteer, the Swede Ludvig Aberg, and Neergaard-Petersen.
Spaniard ngel Ayora, who was one stroke off the lead during his round, finished eighth, with -14, a result insufficient to achieve his goal of obtaining a card to play next season on the PGA Tour, the American circuit.
