“I just tried to give myself a chance,” the Ryder Cup teammate said, reflecting the tense finale and momentum swings on the closing hole.
An errant drive into the creek on 18 cost McIlroy, while the Englishman closed with a steady par.
Matt Fitzpatrick won his third DP World Tour Championship after defeating Rory McIlroy in a play-off at the Earth Course.
Matte Fitzpatrick claimed his third DP World Tour Championship after Rory McIlroy’s bid for a Dubai double finished in dramatic fashion at the last.
The Ryder Cup teammates were forced to play-off for the title after finishing the season-ending tournament tied on 18-under par.
Fitzpatrick played first and sent his drive into the rough to the left of the fairway. McIlroy then fired his own tee shot down the middle – but straight into the creek that runs down the centre of the 18th fairway on Earth Course.
The penalty stroke he invoked left enough of a cushion for Fitzpatrick to close out the win; as McIlroy made bogey, Fitzp
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