In a breathtaking 30-minute finale of pure sporting theatre, Rory McIlroy experienced both the ultimate high and a crushing low, as Matt Fitzpatrick snatched the DP World Tour Championship title from his grasp in a dramatic play-off in Dubai.
The Marathon and The Sprint
While the simplest explanation is that Matt Fitzpatrick beat his Ryder Cup team-mate in a play-off to win the tournament for a third time, earning a staggering £2.3 million cheque, the reality was far from boring. For McIlroy, the occasion was bittersweet; he collected a monumental seventh Race to Dubai crown but fell just short of a fifth individual victory in what has been an astonishing season.
The real drama unfolded on the Earth Course's final hole of regulation play. Fitzpatrick, who had contended without leading for most of the week, produced a brilliant up-and-down for a birdie, posting a round of 66 to move to 18 under par. Suddenly, he held a two-stroke lead at the top of the board.
Then came McIlroy's response. Playing one group behind, the world number two stepped onto the long par-five 18th and found the green in two majestic shots. Facing a must-make 15-foot putt to force a play-off, the ball disappeared into the cup, triggering wild, fist-pumping celebrations from McIlroy. He had saved his day with an eagle on the 72nd hole, just as he did at the Irish Open in September.
The Play-Off Collapse
However, the script flipped in the play-off. After watching Fitzpatrick drive into the left-hand rough, McIlroy's hopes sank as his own drive found the stream snaking up the fairway. His third shot then found a bunker, effectively ending his challenge.
This opened the door for Fitzpatrick, whose season has been a remarkable tale of turnaround. From a lost cause at the start of the year, he became a Ryder Cup hero after a summer of brilliant recovery and significant changes to his coaching and caddie team. He sealed his 11th professional win with a simple par.
'It means the world,' said the 31-year-old champion. 'I struggled at the start of the year obviously and to turn it round in the summer like I did, and have the Ryder Cup like I did, is hard to top. But the way I played today... there was one bad shot all day. So proud of myself. What a feeling.'
Fitzpatrick credited a late surge of three birdies in the final five holes, capitalising on McIlroy's stuttering progress on the back nine.
McIlroy's Consolation and Historic Achievement
McIlroy had started his final round explosively, gaining five shots in five holes to pull clear of his nearest rival, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. But his charge faltered with bogeys on the 12th and 16th and pars on other scoreable holes.
Despite the individual tournament loss, McIlroy's consolation is immense. His seventh Race to Dubai crown pulls him clear of the legendary Seve Ballesteros in the all-time standings and leaves him just one behind Colin Montgomerie's record of eight.
'To surpass Seve this year, I did not get this far in my dreams,' McIlroy admitted. 'Now I want it (Montgomerie’s record). Of course I do... it seems within touching distance now. I was the first European to win the Grand Slam and I would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of the Order of Merit and season-long races. I have hopefully got a few more good years left in me and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him.'
