Rory McIlroy completed the 12 months as Europe’s No. 1-ranked golfer for the fourth time — and first since 2015 — regardless of Jon Rahm profitable the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Sunday.
The Spaniard’s two-shot victory over England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Sweden’s Alex Noren was his third in six years at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
McIlroy completed the season prime of the DP World rankings after Matt Fitzpatrick, his solely rival for the Harry Vardon Trophy, blew up across the flip.
Fitzpatrick wanted to win and McIlroy to not end runner-up, or to complete second and McIlroy to be outdoors the highest seven.
However neither of these eventualities transpired as Fitzpatrick, three off the lead when enjoying the eighth, double-bogeyed after which dropped one other shot on the tenth to finish his probabilities.
McIlroy didn’t want any of the fireworks of the day past, when he powered himself into competition with a 65, and whereas he might have tied Rahm on 20-under had he eagled the final he might solely handle par for a 68 that included six birdies and 4 bogeys to complete fourth.
“It means so much. It has been seven years since I’ve final finished it. I’ve gained three FedEx Cups since I final gained,” McIlroy, who lifted his third PGA Tour FedEx Cup in August, informed Sky Sports activities tv.
“It will have been good to get one win in there on the finish of the 12 months however Jon performed an unimaginable match and absolutely deserved it.”
Rahm, who turned the primary participant to win the match thrice, started the ultimate day with a one-shot lead and opened with two successive birdies to double his benefit.
Fitzpatrick’s 28-foot birdie on the third obtained him to fifteen beneath and inside two however issues began to unravel with a bogey on the brief sixth and regardless that he instantly clawed again that dropped shot, the calamitous eighth in the end did for his hopes.
His drive landed in a deep rut in a waste space, his out shot didn’t clear the tough and having flown the inexperienced and duffed his chip he two-putted from the perimeter for a six.
That put him 5 behind and after lacking the golf green on the tenth he dropped one other shot and his problem was over as he completed 13 beneath, seven adrift.
The one hassle McIlroy, who had three birdies and a bogey in his first 4 holes, had on the eighth got here from the flagstick which stored out his birdie effort from 56 ft.
He three-putted the ninth inexperienced however was not the one one as Hatton did the identical for his solely bogey in a spherical of 66.
