Fitzpatrick wins in Dubai as McIlroy clinches seventh overall title

An emotional Rory McIlroy paid tribute to Seve Ballesteros after eclipsing the Spaniard by clinching his seventh Race to Dubai title, despite being beaten to the DP World Tour Championship by Matt Fitzpatrick.

McIlroy moves past Ballesteros’ tally of six and now sits just one behind Colin Montgomerie’s record of winning the European tour’s season-long race eight times.

It caps a year that McIlroy had already called his greatest ever after completing the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April.

That followed victory at Pebble Beach in February, the prestigious Players Championship in March, and the Irish Open in September.

“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,” McIlroy said on 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.”

And on chasing Montgomerie’s record, he added: “I want it. Of course I do.

“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.”

For a long time on Sunday it looked like McIlroy would also win the final event of the DP World Tour’s season, holding a two-shot lead before faltering down the stretch as Fitzpatrick surged into the lead with a birdie on the last.

That left McIlroy needing to hole a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to force a play-off with his European Ryder Cup team-mate.

And, as he did at the Irish Open in September, McIlroy roared with delight after erasing the two-shot deficit.