Rory McIlroy claims record eighth Race to Dubai crown despite Tyrrell Hatton taking DP World Tour Championship

It came down to the wire, but McIlroy emerged as the top man in Europe once again, this time to conclude the 2026 season

Nov 15, 2026 at 10:00 am ET • 4 min read

Rory McIlroy has done it again. The 37-year-old played just well enough Sunday at Jumeirah Golf Estates to claim a record-tying eighth Race to Dubai crown on the DP World Tour, pulling him alongside Colin Montgomerie for most all-time. The 2026 triumph marks McIlroy's fifth in a row, but this one was not without drama as McIlroy ultimately eked past Eugenio Chacarra, who entered the week in pole position, to claim the title.

"I don't really know what to say. ... Winning eight Order of Merits was never really in my list of goals when I was growing up," McIlroy said. "I remember Monty being obviously a stalwart of the European Tour, going to watch him at the World Match Play at Wentworth over the years. I remember playing with him for the first time at The London Club at The European Open in 2008. 

"So, to pull up alongside him and to win eight of these things, yeah, it means the world to me. I'm a very proud European. I'm a proud European player. I'm proud to be a part of the DP World Tour. Yeah, I'm very proud of myself right now."

While McIlroy claimed the season-long race, Tyrrell Hatton was victorious at Sunday's season-ending 2026 DP World Tour Championship.

One week after his former LIV Golf teammate, Jon Rahm, won in Abu Dhabi, the Englishman followed suit in relatively stress-free fashion. Hatton finished the tournament at 15 under, good for a five-stroke victory over McIlroy, who finished in solo second. Chacarra slotted in a tie for third place with Oliver Lindell.

"This is really special. I was really nervous today," Hatton said. "I didn't say anything to anyone on my team or even to Emily. Yeah, I've had a bit of heartbreak around here, and I felt like it was going to be a difficult day. Just really proud of how I played on the back nine. Putter was amazing. Certainly saved me all week. It feels so good to win here."

McIlroy entered the weekend projected to win the Race to Dubai only for Chacarra to reclaim the top spot heading into Sunday. In the final round, McIlroy was magnificent. The world No. 2 turned in 4-under 32 and bided his time to make one last move.

A string of six straight pars gave way to a beautiful wedge shot into the par-4 16th. With water lining the right side of the green, McIlroy struck his best approach of the afternoon to set himself up for what proved to be a season-defining birdie.

"This is probably a good thing, but I wasn't aware of how much it was sort of going back and forth until the 16th," McIlroy said. "When I was walking to the green, I saw that he was projected 1. Then when I made my birdie, and I'm walking off the green, I saw I was projected 1. I was a little nervous going to the last couple of holes. 

"I guess I did what I needed to do, and I shot a good score today. A lot of other things went my way today, as well. No one made a run. Eugenio played pretty good, but none of the chasing pack did anything. ... Thankfully, everything fell my way today."

McIlroy's final tally came in at 10 under, a number Chacarra nearly leveled on his front nine. The 26-year-old Spaniard was 4 under through his first eight holes and 9 under for the tournament with 10 holes to play. After making three bogeys in a four-hole stretch, Chacarra countered with birdies on Nos. 13-14, pulling him 0.10 points ahead of McIlroy in the Race to Dubai.

Chacarra was unable to add another birdie coming in, and with McIlroy's birdie on No. 16 to push his total to 10 under and in solo second place, the fate of the two was out of their hands. Chacarra required another to pull even with McIlroy and effectively take points away from the Northern Irishman, but it never came to be for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy.

"It was a good fight. I just came out short," Chacarra said. "That's the beauty of golf, obviously, when you play with the best in the world. And he's played here 14, 15 times; you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did."

For his season-long efforts, Chacarra leads the 10 players to earn PGA Tour cards for the 2027 season. By finishing atop this group, he will have access to the first two signature events and The Players Championship. Joining him is another LIV Golf alumnus, Patrick Reed, who held the lead in the Race to Dubai for most of the season before falling flat these last two weeks.

Reed will return to the circuit he called home for many years alongside newcomers Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, Daniel Hillier, Jacob Skov Olesen and Oliver Lindell, who fired a final round, bogey-free 65 to earn his card. Former European Ryder Cupers Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger locked up their PGA Tour cards as well with 32-year-old Englishman Joe Dean securing the final ticket.