McIlroy proves his class in emphatic fashion

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements

European Tour

RORY McILROY won the DP World Championship in Dubai after as thrilling battle with England's Andy Sullivan in the final. With his victory, the Northern Irishman duly clinched the Race to Dubai title for the third time in four years and heads for home with a cheque for more than £2m in his back pocket - a combination of the first prize money and his share of the bonus pool.

It is not a bad way for McIlroy to end what has been, by his astonishingly high standards, a fairly disappointing year. An ankle injury sustained while playing football with some friends ruled him out of a number of events, including his defence of The Open at St Andrews, where he would have been expected to win on what is his favourite golf course. He made it to the US PGA but clearly wasn't anywhere close to being fully fit.

Although he played brilliantly at the Turkish Airlines Open and WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai in the run-up to the season finale in Dubai, his putting was shocking. He sat out the BMW Masters, also played in Shanghai, arriving in Dubai early to work on his short game. It is a measure of just how good he is that although he putted better, he will still feel that he left a lot of shots on the Earth Course - and that despite rounds of 68, 68, 65 and 66 for a 21-under-par total of 267. And let's make something clear - this is not an easy golf course.

Rory McIlroy - Walk of a Champion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76-X1t9T7uk

McIlroy had to be at his sharpest because Sullivan, who led by a shot heading into the final round, refused to be intimated and himself shot a closing round of 68. Sullivan actually increased his lead with birdies at the first two holes - with McIlroy managing a birdie of his own at the second, he was two behind. And that became three when the Northern Irishman dropped a shot at the fourth. Typically, he then birdied the fifth, six and seventh and with both men reaching the turn in 33, Sullivan was still one in front.

But the back nine was a different story. Sullivan recorded eight pars and a solitary birdie,while McIlroy birdied the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th and could even afford the luxury of a dropped shot at the 17th - he put his tee shot in the water but holed a 35-foot putt to maintain his advantage. They came to the final hole with McIlroy holding a one-shot lead. Both men made pars and the glory was McIlroy's once again.

For Sullivan it has been a season he will never forget, with three victories and the knowledge that he can go head to head with a four-time major champion when the heat is on.

The week began with McIlroy just £800 ahead of Danny Willett in the Race to Dubai. The Englishman, playing in his 23rd event compared to McIlroy's 12th, was clearly running on fumes but he must still take huge credit for his performance here. He finished with a 70 and was tied fourth. Branden Grace, of South Africa was third, but at 15 under par he was way behind McIlroy and Sullivan.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, in his maiden season, tied with Willett - this was his 10th top 10 finish in what has been an amazing year for the young Englishman. A total of 55 of the 60-man field finished the week on par or better,and there was even a hole in one for Francesco Molinari.

"It means an awful lot to me," McIlroy said. "I had to play so well over the weekend. I have to say that Dubai has been a pretty sweet place for me. I knew today wasn’t going to be easy. Andy was playing phenomenal golf over the first three days and from what little I saw on TV, it didn’t look like he was missing many putts. Then the birdie on 12 was huge to tie the lead, and then the two birdies on 14 and 15, when he didn’t make them, that gave me a nice little cushion going into the last three holes. Thankfully I rolled that putt in on 17. I guess if I had been tied playing the [par five] last, I would have backed myself with my length, but giving myself that one-shot cushion made a huge difference.”

There was one sad note to the week. When Ivor Robson uttered the words: "On the tee, Andy Sullivan" it signalled the end of his long and distinguished career as a starter on the European Tour. He has made friends with many players over his 41 years in the job and has scarcely put a foot wrong in all that time. He will be sorely missed.

PGA Tour

While McIlroy was enjoying his 12th victory on the European Tour, Kevin Kisner was finally winning on the PGA Tour for the first time after four runner-up finishes this year. Kisner lost out in three playoffs and was entitled to start wondering if he would ever enter the winners' circle. He put it right in the CSM Classic at Sea Island,Georgia - and the floodgates may now open for him.

Kisner began the final round with a three-shot lead and extended that to four with a birdie at the second, followed by another at the fourth. Graeme McDowell, looking for back-to-back wins, and Kevin Chappell were his nearest challengers. It was a big day for McDowell, who needed a good finish to secure his return to the top 50 in the world rankings, not to mention proof that his victory in Mexico was not a fluke.

The lead became five when Kisner birdied the fifth. It was turning out to be a walk in the park for him. And it just kept getting better. He picked up two further birdies to reach five under par for his round by the turn. Kisner was 21 under in total and a string of pars followed - by the time he reached the par-five 15th he led by six from Chappell and McDowell and was on cruise control.

Kisner birdied the 15th to extend his lead to seven and although Chappell picked up shots at the 16th and 17th it was too little too late. A par at the 18th saw Kisner round in 64 for a 22-under-par total of 260. Chappell dropped a shot at the last but still finished second, one ahead of McDowell.

The PGA Tour now goes into a brief winter hibernation, but there is still lots of golf to be played before the year is out, and we will be keeping  you up to date with the very best of it.