Perfect finish as McIlroy repels Rose in Dubai
World No 1 reels off five birdies down the stretch to finish the season in style with his fifth win
Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championship in magnificent fashion in Dubai yesterday when he birdied the last five holes to beat Justin Rose by two shots.
In the season-ending championship of the European Tour, world No 1 McIlroy had fallen two shots behind the fast-charging Rose after a bogey on the 13th.
World No 7 Rose, who set a new course record with a bogey-free round of 10-under par 62, had set the clubhouse target of 21-under par 267.
But McIlroy easily moved ahead with a brilliant display of golf down the stretch, and after playing the final par-5 hole conservatively he made his birdie putt from 12 feet to close with a round of six-under par 66.
McIlroy's 23-under-par 265 total matched the lowest four-round aggregate in the four-year history of the tournament.
It was the fifth win of the season for the reigning USPGA champion.
McIlroy had come into the tournament with an unassailable lead on top of the Race to Dubai. His earnings of €5,519,117 (HK$55 million) also beat the single year earnings record on the European Tour (€5,323,400 by Luke Donald last year).