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WATCH: Field of Dreams finalistsHillier falls short of PGA Tour card, McIlroy wins fourth straight Race to Dubai title
AP • November 17th, 2025 6:00 am
Matt Fitzpatrick lifted the World Tour Championship on the day Rory McIlroy won the Race to Dubai | Photo: AP
Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier has missed out on securing a PGA Tour card for next season by two spots, after finishing tied for 16th at the DP World Tour's season-ending tournament in Dubai.
The Earth Course proved to be a fun playground for the Wellingtonian during the first two rounds, carding a five-under par and four-under to be tied for second alongside Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, and Justin Rose.
The pressure and extra attention that came with being paired alongside McIlroy in the third round saw his place on the leaderboard tumble, finishing on par to drop to 17th.
Hillier's two-under performance in the final round saw him improve one place on the leaderboard, but he needed to finish ahead of Jordan Smith in the season-long points race, known as the Race to Dubai, to gain his US tour card. The Englishman finished 16th while Hillier was 18th.
While 2025 didn't end the way Hillier would've been hoping for - the 27-year-old had a strong season including four top ten finishes, with a second place finish at January's Dubai Desert Classic one stroke behind winner Tyrrell Hatton.
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Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy's banner year in golf has ended in more drama when he eagled the last hole in regulation to force a play-off but then lost out to his Ryder Cup pal Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the season-closing World Tour Championship for a third time.
The consolation for McIlroy was a fourth straight Race to Dubai title - crowning him as top European player of the year - to add to his wins at the Masters to complete the career grand slam, the Players Championship title, his home Irish Open victory and a Ryder Cup triumph in the US.
All of his big individual victories in 2025 came in play-offs but a final one proved just beyond the Northern Irishman, after he hit his drive into a creek on the first playoff hole, No. 18, and made bogey.
Fitzpatrick chipped to three feet and rolled in a par putt to win a third title at Jumeirah Golf Estates, following victories in 2016 and 2020.
"You never like to see the way it ends, but obviously delighted," Fitzpatrick said after sealing his first win in two years.
But it was McIlroy who generated the biggest roar of the day when he poured in a 16-footer for eagle at the last in regulation to complete a round of five-under 67 and join Fitzpatrick (66) on 18-under par for the week.
"In typical Rory fashion, he did it again," smiled Fitzpatrick, who watched it unfold while sitting in the scorer's hut. He met McIlroy outside, shaking his hand and giving him a hug.
They did the same after the playoff, which finished with both of them as winners.
Because for McIlroy, it's a seventh Race to Dubai title, putting him one clear of the late Seve Ballesteros and one behind Colin Montgomerie's record haul of European order of merit titles.
"I didn't get this far in my dreams, so it's very cool," said McIlroy, who revealed that he spoke to Ballesteros' wife, Carmen, before his round on Sunday.
"It seems within touching distance now," he added about catching Montgomerie.
"I'd love to be the winningest European in terms of Order of Merits and season-long races. I've probably got a few more good years left in me, and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him."
Nine players had either led or held a share of the lead across a wild few hours at the Earth course that culminated in Fitzpatrick making three birdies in his final five holes to overtake McIlroy and a slew of Europe's other stars, including Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg.
A six-foot birdie putt at the 18th took Fitzpatrick a stroke clear of Fleetwood (67), Aberg (66) and Laurie Canter (67) and two ahead of McIlroy, who was waiting in the 18th fairway knowing he now needed to make eagle. He hit a fairway wood from around 230 yards before sinking the eagle putt.
Australia's lone entrant Elvis Smylie ended up tied for 42nd place on three under after a final-round 71. It meant the left-hander finished 23rd and leading Aussie in the final Race to Dubai standings.
- additional reporting by Sport Nation.
