Long before the final putt of the 2025 DP World Tour Championship fell, Rory McIlroy had his hands on his seventh Race to Dubai title. Securing his fourth straight season-long crown in Europe to pull him second all-time behind only Colin Montgomerie (eight), the Northern Irishman nearly added even more hardware to his trophy case by pulling off a double and winning the European circuit’s season finale alongside the year-long race.

Instead, McIlroy — despite an eagle on the 72nd hole — fell on the first playoff hole to Matt Fitzpatrick, his Ryder Cup teammate and fellow European. The Englishman carded dueling 66s over the weekend to traverse his way through the peloton by tournament’s end and finish his 72 holes at 18 under. A par on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th, was all Fitzpatrick needed to fend off McIlroy and secure his third DP World Tour Championship title.

“It means the world,” said Fitzpatrick of his victory. “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, 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. What a feeling.”

McIlroy appeared to have the tournament under control, walking off the par-4 11th as he possessed a two-stroke lead with seven holes to play. Getting as deep as 5 under in his round at that stage, the 36-year-old only then began to take on water, adding squares to his scorecard on Nos. 12 and 16 to fall off the pace.

Up ahead, Fitzpatrick continued to scratch and claw, reminiscent of his year as a whole. A hefty diet of pars in the middle of his round preceded a flurry of a finish as Fitzpatrick rolled in respective birdie efforts from 9 feet and 25 feet on Nos. 14 and 15 to propel himself towards the top of a crowded leaderboard that featured the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg and Laurie Canter.

When those three men could do no better than 17 under, Fitzpatrick found himself in a position to seize the moment on the final hole. Getting up and down from right of the green, he posted 18 under as McIlroy watched from the right side of the fairway with 5 wood in hand and eagle on his mind.

McIlroy feathered his 5 wood to perfection to set up a look for eagle. After getting a teach from his playing partner, Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, McIlroy marched to his putt and marched to the hole to pick up his ball from the bottom as he once again found his best at the precise right time.

“Of course you [think he’ll make it],” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s probably one of the only few that you know you go to a playoff, two clear and one to play, and you know you’re going to a playoff. In typical Rory fashion, he did it again, and obviously, you never like to see the way it ends. But obviously delighted.”

While it may not have gone the way of McIlroy in the playoff, he does now inch closer to even more golf immortality. With seven Race to Dubai titles under his belt, the grand slam champion — who now has an award named after him — moves past European legend Seve Ballesteros’ six titles and directly into the rearview mirror of Montgomerie. 

“I said this on this green last year, [Seve] means so much to this tour and to the European Ryder Cup team,” McIlroy said. “We rally so much around his spirit and his quotes and everything he meant for European golf. To equal him last year was cool, but to surpass him this year, yeah, I didn’t get this far in my dreams. So, it’s very cool.”

Montgomerie’s record number of eight included a streak of seven straight from 1999 to 2005. McIlroy finds himself amid a heater of his own, donning four crowns in a row dating back to 2022. He appears intent on giving it a go as he shows no signs of slowing down in the late 30s of his career.

“I want it, of course I do,” McIlroy said. “I caught up with [Montgomerie] this week when he was here a couple days ago, and I saw him. Look, it seems within touching distance now. I’d love to be the winningest European in terms of Order of Merits and season-long races. You know, I’ve probably got a few more good years left in me, and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him.”