Matt Fitzpatrick claims DP World Tour Championship hat-trick

Dubai: Matt Fitzpatrick secured his third DP World Tour Championship title in style as he beat Rory McIlroy in a play-off to finish the 2025 season on a massive high.

The Englishman started the day one shot off the lead but made three birdies in the first five holes to stay in the hunt before finishing with a flourish to sign for a bogey-free 66 and set the clubhouse target at 18 under par.

In a dramatic finish, World No 2 McIlroy got the eagle he needed at the last to force a play-off, only to find the penalty area with his tee-shot at the first extra hole.

And Fitzpatrick took full advantage, getting up and down for par to see off his Ryder Cup teammate and add a third DP World Tour Championship crown to the ones he won in 2016 and 2020.

McIlroy’s second-place finish saw him clinch a seventh Harry Vardon Trophy after a stellar campaign in which he achieved the career Grand Slam with a memorable Masters win, tasted victory at the Amgen Irish Open and played a starring role in Europe’s historic away Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage Black.

The Northern Irishman has now won the Race to Dubai title in each of the past four seasons and is just one away from Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight.

Dubai residents Tommy Fleetwood and Laurie Canter finished alongside Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen in a tie for third on 17 under.

Fitzpatrick endured a difficult start to the year before following up a top-ten finish at the US PGA Championship with back-to-back fourth places at the Genesis Scottish Open and The 153rd Open.

His fine form continued as he finished inside the top six at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, Omega European Masters and BMW PGA Championship before helping Europe to a historic away Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage Black.

He made a bright start to the week at Jumeirah Golf Estates, posting rounds of 69 on Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s 66 moved him to within one of the lead with one round to go.

And the 31-year-old flew out of the blocks on day four, opening his birdie account from five feet at the second before holing from almost 50 feet on the fourth for another birdie.

He made it back-to-back gains with a five-footer on the fifth before parring his next eight holes to fall off the pace.

But two successive birdies at the 14th and 15th brought him back into contention and he birdied the last from five feet to get to 18 under.

A nerveless par in the play-off saw him enter the DP World Tour winner’s circle for the first time since the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Fitzpatrick said: “It means the world. I struggled at the start of this year, obviously, and to turn it around in the summer like I did and have a Ryder Cup like I did ... the Ryder Cup in particular, I feel like it’s hard to top given everything.

“But the way that I played today, I feel like I really didn’t hit one bad shot all day. I’m so proud of myself, the effort that everyone puts in behind the scenes. Yeah, what a feeling. What a feeling.

“Everyone on the team has really, I feel like, has come together, and I couldn’t be happier. And obviously in that down period, I had the support of my wife and my friends and family, and to turn it around and be here now is very special.”

During the prize presentation Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, was on hand to present the trophies, while Khalfan Juma Belhoul, Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO of DP World GCC, General Abdullah Al Hashmi, President of Emirates Golf Federation, Guy Kinnings, CEO of DP World Tour and Eric Nicoli, Chairman of the European Tour Group, were also part of the presentation party.