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matt fitzpatrick Rejected a dramatic late fight from Rory McIlroy To get my third place DP World Tour Championship Win in Dubai.
McIlroy sank an eagle on the final hole to force a playoff, but came up short on the second and gave his Ryder Cup teammate the win.
It was a thrilling finale to a campaign that gave McIlroy his seventh Race to Dubai title, one behind record holder Colin Montgomerie.
Fitzpatrick started the final day among a group of six players, one shot behind McIlroy and fellow joint leader, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark.
He birdied the final hole to complete a bogey-free round of 66 to put himself in pole position for the win, requiring the Eagles to defeat both McIlroy and Neergaard-Petersen to force a play-off.
While the Dane faltered, the Northern Irishman landed his putt about 15 feet to send the tournament going to extra time – but it was Fitzpatrick who won after both players missed the green with their respective approach shots.
Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports: “He (McIlroy) is one of the few guys where you know you’re going into the play-offs. You’re clear with two to play and you know you’re going into the play-offs because he did it again in typical Rory fashion.
“I obviously struggled at the beginning of the year and to turn it around in the summer like I did, the Ryder Cup like I did, that’s hard to top, but the way I played today – had a bad shot all day. I’m proud of myself.”
Tommy Fleetwood was in a group of four players, including Neergaard-Petersen, who finished tied for third after a final round 67, while Tyrrell Hatton, the only man starting the final day with a faint hope of denying McIlroy the Road to Dubai title, fell short after finishing tied for 14th.
McIlroy, somewhat of a disappointment, had a great start to the final round and moved clear to the top of the leaderboard after going four-under through the first seven holes.
But he expressed pride in surpassing the late six-time Race to Dubai winner Seve Ballesteros and is focused on catching and overtaking Montgomerie.
He said: “It’s amazing, I spoke to Carmen (Ballesteros’s ex-wife) before we went out to play today and she told me how proud she would have been.
“I want it (eight titles), of course I do. I was the first European to win a Grand Slam and I would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of the Order of Merit and season long run.”