Tag: 2022 DP World Tour Championship

Jon Rahm wins third DP World Tour Championship; Rory McIlroy claims fourth season title

It was the Rahm and Rory show at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship.

It was the Rahm and Rory show at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship.

Jon Rahm shot a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the tour’s season finale in Dubai at 20 under, two shots ahead of Tyrrell Hatton and Alex Noren. With the win, he becomes the first player to win the tour championship for a third time.

Rory McIlroy’s lucky number this week at Jumeirah Golf Estates was four, as in, he’s now been crowned European Number One four times. McIlroy closed with a 68 for a solo fourth-place finish and clinched the points race when Matt Fitzpatrick tied for fifth. McIlroy earns the Harry Vardon trophy as a result, something he also took home in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

“It’s been seven years I last did it. This is my fourth one but it’s been a while, I’ve won three FedEx Cups since the last time I won this and it means a lot,” he said.

Only Colin Montgomerie (eight) and Seve Ballesteros (six) have more Vardon trophies.

For Rahm, this win marks his ninth DP World Tour victory and third worldwide title in 2022.

“Hopefully, people can stop telling it has been a bad year,” he said.

Rahm began the day with a one-shot lead and started his final 18 with three straight birdies. He bogeyed the fourth but added birdies on Nos. 7, 13 and 15. He now has three wins and four top-5s at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course.

“I like this course and this course likes me. I hope this is the third of many more,” he said.

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Jon Rahm ‘maximized the round’ on moving day to take lead at 2022 DP World Tour Championship

The DP World Tour’s rankings prize is up for grabs.

Following Friday’s second round at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship, Jon Rahm felt as if he left a couple shots on the course during his 6-under performance.

On Saturday, his thoughts couldn’t have been more different.

“I don’t think I could have shot any lower today. Maximized the round,” Rahm said. “Wasn’t my best off the tee, but I was able to actually get some birdies out of some not so good situations. I didn’t hit any of the fairways on the par 5s and still played them 3-under par.”

Rahm fired a 7-under 65 on moving day to nab the lead at 15 under for the tournament heading into the final round. He trailed 36-hole leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton by four shots before the third round, but now those two are chasing the Spaniard.

Ranked fifth in the world, Rahm had seven birdies and no bogeys at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Saturday. He leads Fitzpatrick, who shot 2 under, by one and Alex Noren by two. Hatton and Rory McIlroy are T-4 at 12 under, three back. McIlroy matched Rahm with a 7-under performance.

As it stands, McIlroy is projected to win the DP World Tour points standings. There remains plenty of fluidity in the points race with 18 holes to go, but it’s clear what McIlroy’s goal is.

“It’s really cool, I’ve got to this stage in the game over 15 years as a pro, and I’m still trying to do things for the first time,” McIlroy said. “I’ve never won the FedEx Cup and this tour’s rankings in the same year, so it would be really nice.

“It’s been a wonderful year. I’ve played some really, really great golf and really consistent golf. If I’m able to go out there tomorrow and shoot a good score and get the job done, it would be a really nice way to end what’s been a great year.”

Fitzpatrick, projected second in the standings, could nab the title with a victory as long as McIlroy doesn’t finish solo second.

However, those two are both chasing Rahm heading to Sunday in Dubai.

“I’m hoping come tomorrow I can be a little better off the tee, and still keep the good iron play and good putting going,” Rahm said.

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Co-leader Tyrrell Hatton gets tough crowd on 18th hole after big par save at 2022 DP World Tour Championship

The two names at the top remained the same after the second round.

Tyrrell Hatton was thrilled with his par save on the 18th hole.

The crowd at Jumeirah Golf Estates? Not so much.

Hatton’s tee shot on the par 5 went into the creek meandering the fairway, so he dropped his ball about 250 yards from the green. He smoked a 3 wood  and two-putted for par. This comes a day after making bogey on the closing hole.

Yet the fans encompassing the green didn’t give much of a response to his shot.

“That’s probably one of the best 3-woods I’ve hit in my life, to be fair, and I didn’t realize it was as close as it was,” Hatton said. “It was a tough crowd on 18. Nice way to finish the day.”

Hatton fired a second-round 5-under 67 and remains tied with Matt Fitzpatrick at 12 under with 36 holes left in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The duo played together Friday after matching 65s on Thursday, and they again copied each other in the second round.

Hatton’s round consisted of eight birdies, three bogeys and the clutch par save on the 18th. Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick’s first bogey of the week came on the 12th hole, but he countered with three birdies on the front and back nine to maintain a share of the lead.

Fitzpatrick has won twice before at the DP World Tour Championship. A third win would help him clinch the season-long points race.

“I feel really comfortable with where my game is at, particularly after three weeks off and looking forward to the weekend,” Fitzpatrick said.

The duo has a three-shot lead on Alex Noren and Adri Arnaus, who sit at 9 under. Jon Rahm, who shot 6-under 66 on Friday, is at 8 under and tied for fifth.

Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the world and leader in the DP World Tour points race coming into the week, shot 4-under 68 on Friday and is T-11.

If Fitzpatrick—who came into the week third in the points race but now projects as the points leader—were to win, McIlroy would need to finish solo second or in a two-way tie for second to win the DP World Tour season-long championship.

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Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton tied for lead after first round at 2022 DP World Tour Championship

Ever started a round with five straight birdies? Matt Fitzpatrick did on Thursday.

Matt Fitzpatrick couldn’t have started any better than he did Thursday at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship.

How about five straight birdies to begin the day? That’s what Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, did at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai during the first round. He added another on the eighth hole, going out in 6-under 30. on the back nine, he added another birdie and didn’t have any bogeys.

Fitzpatrick carded a 7-under 65 in the first round and is tied with Tyrrell Hatton following the opening 18 holes. Hatton himself had a birdie barrage, his coming on the back nine with four straight from holes No. 13-16. He was at 8 under until a bogey on the closing par 5.

“I was laughing (at the start), to be honest,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a nice start to the day.”

Fitzpatrick, who said he’s battling a sore throat and dry cough, hit all but one green during the opening round. He has won twice previously at Jumeirah in the DP World Tour Championship. In 2016, he beat Hatton by one shot for the title.

Hatton said his mind is still raging about a bogey on the final hole.

“It is what it is,” Hatton said.

The duo on top has a one-shot lead over Alex Noren, who shot 6-under 66 after a strong event in Houston last week on the PGA Tour.

Tommy Fleetwood, who broke a three-year winless drought last week in South Africa, sits T-5 at 4 under. Rory McIlroy, who leads the DP World Tour points standings, shot 1 under and is tied for 22nd.

If Fitzpatrick, who is third in the points race, were to win, McIlroy would need to finish solo second or in a two-way tie for second to win the DP World Tour season-long championship. If Fleetwood wins, McIlroy needs a two-way tie for third or better to win.

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