21 November 2021: Collin Morikawa birdied five of his last seven holes to win his first Rolex Series title at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and become the first American to be crowned Europe’s Number One. In another one of those Sunday chips on the shoulder of Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irishman melted into the crowd, conceding three bogeys in the last four holes, after leading or staying up for much of this week.
The Open Champion entered the final round three shots off the lead at Jumeirah Golf Estates but comfortably ahead of all his rivals for the Race to Dubai title.
That all changed as defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick made a surge up the leaderboard and all of a sudden it was all to play for on the Earth Course.
But Morikawa, who was one under for his round after 11 holes, found another gear and signed for a bogey free 66 that left him at 17 under, three shots clear of Englishman Fitzpatrick, who also carded a 66, and Swede Alexander Björk who signed for a 70.
Dane Nicolai Højgaard and Scot Robert MacIntyre finished at 13 under, a shot clear of South African Dean Burmester, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Ian Poulter.
McIlroy, a two time winner of this event had led for most of the day but dropped three shots in his final four holes to sign for a 74.
