Years of tension during the DP World Tour Championship
The DP World Tour Championship, which kicks off on Thursday at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has generated a lot of excitement since its first edition in 2009.
It’s no surprise given the quality of the 50-player field. This year there are seven of the top 15 in the world rankings, including No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who took his fifth Race to Dubai title on Sunday, and No. 3 Jon Rahm.
Below, in chronological order, are five tournaments that came down to the final hole.
2010
Robert Karlsson from Sweden was the winner, but what happened to Ian Poulter from England also stood out.
On the second playoff hole, Poulter was assessed a one-stroke penalty for dropping his ball on his marker, causing it to move. He finished with a bogey on the hole, while Karlsson, who took his 11th DP World Tour victory, made birdie.
Poulter had missed a birdie putt to win it in regulation.
“Six inches from the hole I probably would have put my house on it,” he said later, “but it’s slower and costs a little grain and fog. Obviously a little disappointed, and it was a shame that it ended like this.
2015
With a two-stroke lead and two holes to go, the tournament was in all likelihood McIlroy’s.
Until he found the water with his tee shot on 17 and soon encountered a 35-foot putt for bogey. Still, he punched it in and parred 18 for a one-shot win over Andy Sullivan.
“The tee shot was 40 yards from the line,” McIlroy said at the time. “It was just a horrible wave. I didn’t like the shot and I wasn’t very happy with myself, but I was able to get over it quick enough to hole that putt. It seems like the more pressure I’m under, or the more it means, the better I putt, and that’s nice to have.”
2016
Four feet must have seemed 40 feet long Matt Fitzpatrick, who had to make the birdie putt for the win.
No problem.
“The 18th green was the most nervous I’ve ever experienced on a four-foot putt,” he told reporters. “You have to get it done, and luckily it’s going well so far. It won’t always be this way.”
Late in the final round, Fitzpatrick was one shot behind Tyrrell Hatton. However, Hatton found the water with his drive on 18, leading to a bogey that paved the way for Fitzpatrick, who hit his second shot on the par 5 into a bunker and chipped in from close range to set up the winning putt.
2019
At some point in the final round, Tommy Fleetwood was eight strokes behind Rahm.
It looked like it, but it wasn’t.
Fleetwood made six birdies from there and shot a seven-under 65, while Rahm was suddenly off his game. He needed a birdie at 18 to get rid of Fleetwood.
After a huge drive, he hit his four-iron approach into the bunker. He chipped the ball to within a yard and made the putt.
“Those first seven holes I felt like I couldn’t miss a single shot. My putting was incredible. Then just one errant tee shot and a three-putt took everything in the wrong direction,” Rahm said afterward. “It made me show determination, grit and courage just to win,” he added.
2020
Fitzpatrick triumphed for a second time, with a shot over Lee Westwood, knocking in a three-footer for par on the 72nd hole. After hitting his drive into the Rough, Fitzpatrick chipped back to the fairway and found the putting surface with his third.
Westwood, who was 47 years old at the time, also had reason to celebrate and secured the Race to Dubai. He won the European Money title in 2000 – then known as the Order of Merit – and again in 2009.
“It was a great finish,” Westwood told reporters. “I was sitting there watching it – it’s always exciting this tournament, it’s getting closer and there’s always tension and excitement.”