Rory McIlroy won Dubai’s DP World Tour Championship on Sunday, overhauling overnight leader Andy Sullivan with four birdies on the back nine to also be crowned Europe’s top money earner for a third year in four.
McIlroy carded a final-round 66 to end with a 21-under aggregate score of 267, having begun the day on 15-under, a shot adrift of England’s Sullivan at the US$8 million European Tour season finale.
Playing partner Sullivan’s 68 left him on 268, one stroke short, despite stretching his advantage early on as McIlroy seized control mid-round with seven birdies in 11 holes.
The four-time major winner could even afford to take a drop on the 17th after finding the water, eventually recovering to make a 40-foot bogey, before sealing victory with a 12-inch par putt on the final green.
“It’s probably the longest putt I’ve ever made for a bogey — I don’t think there’s been one that’s come at a better time, so definitely the best bogey of my career,” the Northern Irishman told reporters.
The victory was his fourth of the year and the first since May, McIlroy having missed three tournaments, including The Open at St Andrews, after rupturing ankle ligaments while playing soccer in July.
McIlroy’s 12th European Tour title means the 26-year-old also retained the Race to Dubai, formerly known as the Order of Merit, given to Europe’s top money earner. He was also victorious in 2012 and last year.
Ahead of play, McIlroy practiced his putting until almost the last moment, while Sullivan casually waited on the opening tee, but the duo seemed at ease with each other, amiably chatting and joking as they walked the first fairway.
Sullivan, ranked 53rd in the world, sunk an eight-foot birdie on the first after seeing McIlroy miss a 15-footer that ended just short.
Both birdied the second, Sullivan moving to 18-under and McIlroy two adrift on 16-under.
On the par-three fourth, McIlroy seemed perturbed after pulling his tee shot and although he recovered with an 80-foot putt to within four feet of the pin, he scuffed his next effort for a bogey that gave Sullivan a three-stroke advantage.
The duo again picked up shots with close-range putts on the fifth, McIlroy’s the first of three successive birdies that lifted the world No. 3 to 18-under.
Sullivan also birdied the sixth, but then bogeyed eight — his first dropped shot in 22 holes — as his lead was reduced to one stroke by the turn.
“I gave it everything on that front nine, I just couldn’t quite get the putts to drop on the back nine,” Sullivan said.
“I didn’t really hit it close enough again, [but] to come up head-to-head with someone of Rory’s quality was absolutely awesome and something that will stick with me for a long time,” he said.
McIlroy took a lead he was not to relinquish on the 14th, tapping in from two feet for a third birdie in four holes, although a bogey on 17 narrowed his lead to one stroke and gave Sullivan a final chance.
The Englishman’s 20-foot birdie attempt on the 18th, which would have forced at least a playoff, rolled inches wide and McIlroy then took two putts to seal victory by a stroke.
“If I hadn’t won today, I wouldn’t have been too happy,” McIlroy said. “Andy had chances to make a couple of birdies and didn’t quite convert, and I was able to just hang on.”
South Africa’s Branden Grace (67) was third on 273, while compatriot Charl Schwartzel (69) was one of six players tied on 275.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB