Fitzpatrick defeats McIlroy for 3rd DP World Tour crown

England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick has won his 3rd DP World Tour Championship title.

The 2022 US Open champion defeated world number two, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the first playoff hole at the Jumeirah Golf Estate in Dubai but both were winners today.

The two completed the 4 rounds in 270 – 18-under-par.

Fitzpatrick carded a flawless 6-under-66, while McIlroy, the defending champion at the Earth Course, made 2 bogeys in his round of 67.

McIlroy then found the water off the tee on the first play-off hole, that led to a bogey, and a par for Fitzpatrick was enough to secure his 3rd DP World Tour Championship title and first worldwide tournament win in more than two years.

“It means the world to me. I struggled at the start of the year obviously and to turn it around in the summer like I did, have the Ryder Cup like I did, which is hard to top, but I played today. There was 1 bad shot all day. I’m so proud of myself. The effort everyone puts in behind the scenes, my team. What a feeling,” says Fitzpatrick.

McIlroy was also a winner. His second-place finish was good enough for a 7th career Race to Dubai crown. He’s now just 1 behind Scotland’s Colin Montgomery’s all-time record.

“I caught up with Monty a couple of days ago, and look, it seems within touching distance now. I was the first European to win the Grand Slam and would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of the order of merit and season-long races. Hopefully, I have a few good years in me and I can catch him and surpass him,” says McIlroy.

The duo finished one stroke clear of a group of four players that included the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup champion, Tommy Fleetwood of England.