DP World Tour Championship: Matt Fitzpatrick beats Rory..

Rory McIlroy eagled the final hole to force a playoff, after which Matt Fitzpatrick won the DP World Tour Championship; McIlroy won the Race to Dubai for the fourth consecutive time and the seventh time in his career; Ryder Cup stars Ludvig Åberg and Tommy Fleetwood finished third.

Rory McIlroy won the Race to Dubai for the fourth consecutive year despite narrowly missing out to Matt Fitzpatrick in a thrilling finale of the DP World Tour Championship.

On an incredible final day of the DP World Tour season, several players challenged for victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where Matt Fitzpatrick shot a bogey-free 66 to edge past a crowded leaderboard and set a clubhouse target of 18 under par.

McIlroy started with the lead and briefly lost a two-shot lead on the back nine, but he made a dramatic 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole, forcing his Ryder Cup teammate to play extra holes.

The players returned to the par-five 18th hole for a playoff, where McIlroy's tee shot hit the water and Fitzpatrick's poor strategy resulted in both players missing the green on their third shots.

The world number two chipped in from a greenside bunker to 20 feet but missed his par putt, allowing Fitzpatrick to secure his first worldwide title win since October 2023 and a third straight season finale.

McIlroy's runner-up finish increased his margin of victory in the season-long Race to Dubai standings, ensuring he will win the Harry Vardon Trophy for the seventh time and move one step closer to Colin Montgomerie's record of eight Order of Merit titles.

Other Ryder Cup stars Ludwig Oberg and Tommy Fleetwood shared third place with Laurie Canter and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, while Rasmus Højgaard finished seventh, three strokes behind Robert MacIntyre, Angel Ayora, and Haotong Li.

Fitzpatrick overtakes McIlroy in a thrilling final day
Sixteen players were three strokes off the lead on the final day, with Haotong Li making four birdies in the first five holes and Kanter's fast start putting McIlroy ahead before the overnight co-leader took the lead.

McIlroy quickly took the lead with a birdie-birdie start, adding another birdie from close range on the fifth hole and a par-score on the seventh hole to move two holes ahead, while Kanter, after four birdies in his first seven holes, three-putted for bogey on the eighth hole.

Justin Rose also briefly co-led after playing a three-hole stretch in four under par on his first nine holes, including a 50-foot eagle on the par-three sixth hole, while Fitzpatrick also holed out from nearly the same distance on the fourth hole during a string of three birdies in five holes.

McIlroy's birdie on the 11th hole was canceled out by a dropped shot on the next hole, losing his lead. Kanter joined him at 17 under after a long-range birdie on the 14th.

Fitzpatrick, playing in the penultimate group, also capitalized on the 14th hole, holing a 25-footer on the next hole, while Oberg pitched in from the 12th green and birdied the final hole to set the initial clubhouse target at 17 under.

McIlroy fell one shot short of the fairway bunker from the 16th tee and then suffered a sudden bogey. The Northern Irishman briefly fell to fifth place before Kanter shot a final-round 67, and Fleetwood made five birdies on the back nine to create a four-way tie at the top.

Fitzpatrick pulled ahead with a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole, while Neergaard-Petersen made an eagle and two birdies on the final hole, leaving him and his partner McIlroy needing an eagle on the final hole to advance.

Neergaard-Petersen finished tied for second with a tap-in birdie, while McIlroy's eagle forced him into his fourth Worldwide Play-off of the season, but he narrowly missed out on defending the title.

A costly miss for McIlroy ❌ pic.twitter.com/DYY514y68k — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) November 16, 2025

Tyrell Hatton and Marco Prange – the only two players still ahead of McIlroy on the Order of Merit – finished 14th and 22nd respectively. Prange's runner-up finish on the Race to Dubai put him among the 10 players eligible for a PGA Tour card and dual membership for next season.

Prange said, "This has been the most memorable year of my life." "Winning three times and being consistently competitive has improved my game immensely, and I'm incredibly proud of myself and everyone who helped me get to where I am today."

McIlroy eyes European history after Race to Dubai victory
The runner-up finish caps an impressive year for McIlroy, and he will surpass Seve Ballesteros' record on the Order of Merits. The 36-year-old McIlroy hopes to make even more history in the coming season.

McIlroy said, "He [Ballesteros] means a lot to this tour and the European Ryder Cup team. We are completely committed to his spirit, his ideas, and his contribution to European golf. It was amazing to equal him last year, but surpassing him this year is something I couldn't have even dreamed of."