DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy’s stellar season ended in more dramatic fashion on Sunday when he eagled the final hole of regulation to force a playoff and lost to Matt Fitzpatrick, who won his third season-ending World Tour title.
McIlroy’s consolation? A fourth consecutive Dubai victory made him European Player of the Year, and combined with his victory at the Masters, he completed the career Grand Slam, Players Championship and home Irish Open. McIlroy also helped Team Europe win the Ryder Cup on the road.
All of his big individual wins have come in playoffs, but the last one proved he was far superior to the Northern Irishman after he bogeyed his tee shot into a creek on the first playoff hole (No. 18). Fitzpatrick chipped to 3 feet and made the par putt to win again at Jumeirah Golf Estates, adding to his victories in 2016 and 2020.
“Obviously you never like to see the end of it, but obviously happy,” Fitzpatrick said after his first win in two years.
McIlroy made a 15-foot eagle on the 18th hole to finish the round at 5-under 67 and join Fitzpatrick (66) at 18-under. He also made a late eagle at the Irish Open in September to force a playoff before defeating Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren at the K Club.
“In typical Rory fashion, he did it again,” said Fitzpatrick, who watched the proceedings from the scorer’s cabin. He met McIlroy outside, shook hands and hugged his Ryder Cup teammate.
They did it again after the playoffs, and both ended up being victors.
For McIlroy, it was a seventh Dubai Race title, moving him one ahead of the late Seve Ballesteros and behind Colin Montgomerie’s record.
“My dream wasn’t to get to this point, so it’s pretty cool,” McIlroy said. He revealed he spoke to Ballesteros’ wife Carmen before Sunday’s game.
“It seems within reach now,” he added of pursuing Montgomery. “I’d love to be the winningest guy in Europe in terms of the money list and races throughout the season. You know, I probably still have a couple of years left and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him.”
Nine players led or were tied for the lead during a wild couple of hours on Earth, which ended with Fitzpatrick birdying three of the final five holes to overtake McIlroy and a host of other European stars, including Tommy Fleetwood and Ludwig Oberg.
Fitzpatrick sank a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to move one shot ahead of Fleetwood (67), Oberg (66) and Lauri Kanter (67) and two ahead of McIlroy, who waited on the 18th fairway, knowing he needed to make an eagle now.
He hit the ball about 230 yards to the right of the pin, got a good read from playing partner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen a few feet away, and made the putt.
Neergaard-Petersen (68) made a birdie to join the group at 17 under and tied for third.
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, started the season slowly but finished strong, making the Ryder Cup team after finishing in the top 10 at the British Masters in August and the European Masters and BMW PGA Championship in September. He then won 2.5 points in four games at Bethpage Black.
“To turn things around in the summer like I did and win the Ryder Cup like I did, it feels like it’s going to be hard to top that, all things considered,” Fitzpatrick said. “But the way I played today, I felt like I didn’t hit a bad shot all day. I’m proud of myself and proud of the effort that everyone put in behind the scenes. Yeah, that’s what it feels like.”
