A tearful Rory McIlroy admitted he "did not get this far in my dreams" after he clinched his seventh order of merit title at the DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy entered the final round tied for the lead with Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen but pulled away from the chasing pack early.
Birdies in four out of his first five holes gave McIlroy a comfortable lead and by the 11th hole he led by two strokes, but he was reeled in on a chaotic final day in Dubai.
In the end, McIlroy was forced to hole an eagle on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with his Ryder Cup teammate Matthew Fitzpatrick.
Both players finished on a total of 18-under par, one clear of Laurie Canter, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg and the aforementioned Neergaard-Petersen.
McIlroy could only manage a bogey six on the first play-off hole and lost the tournament overall to Fitzpatrick.
The consolation for McIlroy was that he sealed the Race to Dubai for the seventh occasion and fourth year in a row.
He has now surpassed Seve Ballesteros' record and moved one step closer to matching Colin Montgomerie's haul of eight.
McIlroy was reduced to tears in the immediate aftermath as he paid tribute to Fitzpatrick for the win as well as Montgomerie and Ballesteros.
It caps off a truly remarkable year in which he won The Masters, Players Championship, Irish Open and helped Europe win the Ryder Cup on away soil for the first time since 2012.
"I had a conversation with Carmen [Ballesteros' former wife] before I went out to play and she told me how proud he would have been," he told Sky Sports.
"He means so much to this Tour and the European Ryder Cup team. We rally so much around his spirit, his quotes and everything he meant for European golf.
"To surpass him this year, I did not get this far in my dream."
Of Montgomerie's record, McIlroy said: "I was the first European to win the Grand Slam and I would love to be the European with the most wins in terms of the season-long races."
1 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | -18 |
2 | Rory McIlroy | -18 |
3 | Ludvig Aaberg | -17 |
3 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | -17 |
3 | Laurie Canter | -17 |
3 | Tommy Fleetwood | -17 |
7 | Rasmus Hoejgaard | -15 |
8 | Angel Ayora | -14 |
8 | Haotong Li | -14 |
8 | Robert MacIntyre | -14 |
11 | Jacob Skov Olesen | -13 |
11 | Shane Lowry | -13 |
11 | Nicolai Hoejgaard | -13 |
Rose -14, Aberg -16 (18*)
Justin Rose misses the fairway right on the 18th and slips playing his second.
His golf ball darts towards the hazard area but pulls up short.
He somehow manages to get a swing on it but sends his third long.
Aberg also goes for it with a fairway wood and misses the green left.
A four from the Swede will set the clubhouse target.
McIlroy -17, Neergaard-Petersen -15 (15)
McIlroy finds the putting surface in two at the par-four 15th.
His birdie attempt, once again, is a touch high.
He leaves himself far more than he'd like for par, but makes no mistake.
His playing partner followed his eagle at the 14th with another birdie and is somehow right back in this.
Canter -17 (17)
Laurie Canter finds the putting surface at the tricky par-three 17th.
The only problem is he has to navigate a ridge.
He judges the putt well and taps in for a three.
Rose -14, Aberg -16 (17)
Justin Rose takes a bold an aggressive line at the par-three 17th.
His golf ball lands on the green but then trickles into the run-off area.
He plays a delightful recovery with the flatstick but misses a short par putt.
That will be that for Justin Rose.
Aberg makes a par.
Fitzpatrick -17 (15)
Here comes Matthew Fitzpatrick.
The 2022 US Open champion drains a 25-footer at the 15th to join Rory McIlroy and Laurie Canter at the top of the leaderboard on 17-under.
McIlroy -17 (14)
McIlroy hits a wedge to about 14 feet.
He doesn't like his birdie putt at all and begins walking to the cup as soon as it hits the face.
That'll be a par five.
This is looking like it will go down to the wire...
-17 McIlroy, Canter
-16 Aberg, Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick
-15 Rose, R Hojgaard
-14 MacIntyre
L. Canter -17, Fleetwood -16 (16)
Massive stroke of fortune for Laurie Canter at the 16th.
He absolutely hates his tee shot and yells 'fore'.
His golf ball gets an all-time bounce left, though, and darts back towards the fairway.
Canter hits a delightful approach and loves the line of his birdie putt but it comes up short.
Fleetwood is much closer and misses his birdie putt low.
That would've tied the lead.
McIlroy -17 (14*)
Rory McIlroy finds the left rough with his tee shot at the par-five 14th so cannot have a crack at the green in two shots.
He lays up and will attempt to get close to the pin with a wedge.
The pin is cut at the back right of the green so it won't be straight-forward.
Canter -17, Fleetwood -16 (15)
Fleetwood and Canter both find the green in regulation at the 15th.
Fleetwood is away first from 30 feet and comes up short. Par.
Canter pushes his effort right.
McIlroy -17 (13)
McIlroy drops his putter on the 13th hole in frustration after missing his makeable birdie putt on the high side.
He remains tied at the top.
McIlroy -17 (13*)
Rory McIlroy is eyeing up his tee shot at the par-three 13th.
It's a lovely shot and settles pin high, around 15 feet from the hole.
Will he bounce back with a birdie?
Canter -17, Fleetwood -16 (14)
Wow. Laurie Canter drains a 35-foot putt for a birdie at the par-five 14th to move into a share of the lead with Rory McIlroy.
Tommy Fleetwood also make a four.
Back-to-back birdies move @LaurieCanter to -17!
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 16, 2025
He's now tied at the top after McIlroy bogeyed the 12th.#DPWTC | #RolexSeriespic.twitter.com/K1y7XLaLWv
McIlroy -17 (12)
McIlroy misses his par attempt on the high side.
McIlroy -18 (12*)
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot into the left rough at the 12th and groans as he fires his approach through the green.
He plays a good recovery shot but is faced with a lengthy putt to save his par.
J. Rose -15 (14)
Justin Rose lays up at the par-five 14th and plays another delightful approach with a short iron.
He can't convert though.
Holes are running out for the Englishman.
-18 McIlroy
-16 Aberg, Canter
-15 Rose, Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick
-14 MacIntyre, R. Hojgaard
McIlroy -18 (11)
McIlroy knocks in a 12-footer at the 11th for his fifth birdie of the day.
And just like that, the lead is back to two.
Rory makes his fifth birdie of the day and now leads by two #DPWTC | #RolexSeriespic.twitter.com/3RDrcZJOBk
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 16, 2025
Canter -16 (13)
Laurie Canter makes a bounce back birdie at the 13th. He gets back to within one but Rory McIlroy has a makeable birdie putt at the 11th...
T. Fleetwood -15 (13)
We mentioned that Tommy Fleetwood needed a huge back nine if he is to have any chance here.
Well, he has just made his third birdie in four holes to join the group on 15-under.
Canter -15 (12)
Laurie Canter pays the price for finding the greenside bunker at the 12th.
Who do you think wins this from here?
Rory? Justin? Ludvig? Laurie? Tommy? Fitzy?
Get involved in the conversation by dropping a comment at the bottom of this page.
McIlroy -17 (10)
McIlroy barely breathes on his birdie putt down the hill.
It's a brilliant effort but stops right on the edge.
He leads by one with eight to play.
McIlroy -17 (10*)
McIlroy can either go over or under a tree over at the 10th.
He opts to go for the high one and finds the green. That looks about 15 feet from the cup.
-17 McIlroy
-16 Canter, Aberg
-15 Rose, Fitzpatrick
-14 Li, Fleetwood, Ayora
-13 MacIntyre, Hatton
