Jon Rahm wrapped up a stellar Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship debut by claiming a two-shot win and a record-breaking sixth Rolex Series title.
Related: Rahm surges to third-round lead in Abu Dhabi
The Spaniard previously shared the distinction of being the most successful Rolex Series player with Tyrrell Hatton, and the Ryder Cup team-mates were both in the hunt for further glory at Yas Links.
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They were in the final group alongside Francesco Laporta, with that trio and World Number Two Rory McIlroy – who kept his dream of an eighth Race to Dubai title alive – briefly sharing the lead on the back nine before Rahm motored ahead to get to 23 under and two shots ahead of Hatton with his final-round 67.
McIlroy made a brilliant start by finding the green at the 378-yard first for an opening birdie before a huge eagle putt from the fairway at the next saw him climb to 19 under.
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He was not alone at the top after Rahm’s own birdie at the first and the Spaniard was handed the outright lead when McIlroy bogeyed the third.
Laporta joined Rahm at the summit on 19 under with birdies at the first and third, but the Italian became the sole leader when his playing partner followed McIlroy by dropping a shot at the third.
Rahm showed his class with back-to-back birdies from the fifth to reclaim top spot at 20 under, with Laporta and Hatton, who matched the leader’s scoring run from the fifth, sat one behind.
A birdie at the seventh saw Laporta sit alongside Rahm at 20 under as the pair shared a one-shot lead at the turn.
The leadership group increased to three when McIlroy rolled in birdies at the tenth and 11th and when Hatton also picked up a shot at the latter hole, four were tied at the top.
Only for a matter of moments though, as Rahm and Laporta tapped up for gains at the same hole to nudge ahead to 21 under.
There was soon a two-shot swing at the 12th after Laporta found trouble and could not get up and down to save par, with Rahm taking full advantage with a birdie from short range.
That left him at 22 under, but Laporta’s race was run when he triple-bogeyed the 13th to slip five behind.
Rahm produced a stunning approach at the 15th to ensure he took a stranglehold of the tournament as he tapped in for birdie.
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Hatton maintained the two-shot deficit when following suit, but Rahm kept his good friend at arm’s length by closing out with three straight pars to secure his 11th DP World Tour title.
The Englishman signed for a final-round 68 to claim solo second at 21 under and sealed his place at next week’s DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy climbed up to second on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World behind Eugenio Chacarra in his bid for a record-equalling eighth Harry Vardon Trophy with a third-placed finish at 19 under.
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Laporta was two shots further back in fourth, with Spanish duo Angel Ayora and David Puig and Bernd Wiesberger at 16 under.
Jayden Schaper was in solo eighth at 15 under, while English pair Nathan Kimsey and Matthew Jordan, Adam Scott, Frederic Lacroix and Freddy Schott were one shot further back.
Player Quotes
Jon Rahm: It’s been what has felt like a long week, obviously quite a long travel from the U.S. to come here but what a wonderful city. I keep thinking what has taken me so long to come here.
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Early in my career, it was a scheduling issue. But the last three years, I really don’t have a good excuse to be honest. It’s a fantastic golf course, in impeccable shape and a great city as well right. Very happy to be here and be the one that’s here (with the trophy) right now.
Played really good all week. Playing really solid. There was a bit of a question mark of how it was going to go for me on Tuesday and Wednesday, and just happy to pull through with a fantastic week overall.
I wish you would have seen me play on Tuesday and Wednesday to be honest. It is one of those things where I think it was the 2019 DP World Tour championship that I won. I think I took four or five weeks off, as well, before that.
I am not usually one to take time off. I’m a bit of a workhorse. I don’t do well not having a golf club in my hands. But it does feel good sometimes. And once we start a tournament on a Thursday, it’s not really in my head, right. I feel like I’m capable of hitting any shot that I’ve hit before, and I had a lovely start, right. I was three-under through six, and obviously after playing that good, it never crossed my mind again.
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It’s nothing major besides the obvious, right. I think I said it earlier in the week, whether you like to admit it or not, it was a lot of extra noise going on in general, and that was still not the most important part of my life. Meaning in the sense of the impending birth of our daughter was something that was weighing heavily on me at Wentworth, I’m not going to lie, I didn’t want to miss it.
I felt incredible calm, even when things didn’t go anyway. Not much seemed to bother me, and probably the main reason why I was able to perform the way I have.
