Matt Fitzpatrick (-18) has claimed victory at the DP World Tour Championship. The English golfer, in an exciting season finale, defeated Rory McIlroy (-18) on the first playoff hole to secure his tenth win on the tour and his third title at the Dubai finale, where he had previously lifted the trophy in 2016 and 2020. A tournament that awards him a prize of three million dollars and allows him to finish in third position in the Race to Dubai.
The Sheffield native signed off with a final round of 66 strokes, with six birdies and no mistakes, proving infallible in decisive moments. With three birdies in his first four holes on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, he quickly presented his candidacy. And although his round slowed with a long series of pars, he took advantage of a small slip by Rory on the back nine to launch another attack.
With birdies on the 14th and 15th, he managed to tie for the lead. And on the 18th, playing aggressively with his second shot from the fairway, he ended up in the rough, next to the bunker, in a good position to at least go for the birdie, which he achieved with a fantastic recovery and a one-and-a-half-meter putt. It seemed he had the victory in his pocket, but there was still a match to complete, with the Northern Irishman, who didn’t want to leave even the crumbs, and the Dane Neergaard-Petersen (-17), who reached the last flag still with a chance.
Both Rory, who had complicated things with bogeys on the 12th and 15th, and Rasmus played very aggressively and created good eagle opportunities to force the playoff. The Dane narrowly missed his putt and had to settle for a third-place tie with Tommy Fleetwood (-17), Laurie Canter (-17), and Ludvig Aberg (-17), who had unsuccessfully tried to reach that 18-under where the tournament seemed to be. But the Northern Irishman didn’t forgive, with a round of 67 that took the DP World Tour final to sudden death, again on the 18th.
The excitement, however, lasted less than expected. Fitzpatrick played first, with a wood to the left rough. McIlroy took a risk with the driver… and ended up with his ball in the creek, forced into an impossible situation that didn’t materialize. The Englishman, in his attempt not to take risks after his rival’s mistake, played so conservatively that he almost complicated a victory he had in the bag. But finally, a good fourth shot, leaving the par almost done, was enough to certify the win against a Rory who finished with a bogey.
Nevertheless, the Northern Irishman, despite not completing the coveted double, was crowned champion of the Race to Dubai, the seventh of his professional career. Rory, with victories at the Masters Tournament, where he completed the Grand Slam, and the Irish Open, closes a historic season in a final where his Order of Merit was never in danger. Marco Penge (-9) ‘resigned’ from the fight practically from day one and Tyrrell Hatton (-12), who added some excitement on Saturday, disconnected in the final round with a par round that dropped him to fourth place overall.
For Ángel Ayora (-14), the tournament and season finale was bittersweet. The Malaga native, who arrived in Dubai with nine top-10 finishes in 2025, had managed in the first three rounds to create a fantastic opportunity to fight for one of the 10 PGA Tour cards that were up for grabs. And although in the first half of the round this Sunday he didn’t achieve the birdie production needed to keep up with the high pace at the top, with only two, he reached the final stretch of the tournament with intact chances of achieving the feat.
Unfortunately, a bogey on the 11th, after a poor recovery, and another on the 12th, after a three-putt, distanced him too much from the fight. The Spaniard reacted with his characteristic talent, with three consecutive birdies on the 14th, 15th, and 16th. On the challenging par-three 17th, he nearly made a fourth, but the ball wouldn’t drop. And on the 18th, he went for the green in two, ended up in the back rough, and his recovery attempt rolled close to the hole… and ended up rolling unstoppably into the creek. The eagle attempt turned into a bogey that dropped him to eighth position.
Looking at the positives in his performance, Ayora has demonstrated in a top-level event his high level of play, his ability to face some of the world’s best golfers head-to-head, and in addition to securing his tenth top-10 of the season, he has qualified as part of the top 25 in the Race to Dubai for the next edition of the Open Championship, which will be the first major of his career in July next year.
As for the other three Spaniards present in the grand final, Jorge Campillo (-5) and Eugenio López-Chacarra (-5) signed their best card of the week this Sunday, 68 strokes each, to climb seven positions and finish tied for 37th place. Nacho Elvira (-1), meanwhile, played under par, with 71 strokes, to gain one position and finish second to last in this tournament that closes the season. None of the three could fight for the top positions or the PGA Tour cards for 2026.
