Tyrrell Hatton Hangs On To Win Hero Dubai Desert Classic As Rory McIlroy Fails With Late Charge
LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton claimed his fifth career Rolex Series title at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic after beating Daniel Hillier by one stroke at Emirates GC
The Englishman began the day on 12-under - a stroke behind the Kiwi - but ultimately recovered the situation perfectly to set up a two-stroke advantage heading down 18.
Despite a tough day on the course, Hillier was not willing to lie down and accept his fate, making birdie in front of the expectant crowd and forcing Hatton to sink a nervy six-foot par putt for the title.
Showing his mental fortitude, the Ryder Cup star managed it with aplomb to remain at 15-under and secure his fifth Rolex Series crown and an eighth DP World Tour prize. Coincidentally, Hatton's fifth Rolex Series victory matches the number earned by his Legion XIII captain, Jon Rahm.
Speaking immediately after the winning putt had dropped, Hatton shared that he was still physically shaking due to the adrenaline pumping through his body and admitted that lifting this trophy had been a dream of his since he was a child - a fact that affected his play during the final round.
He said: "It feels amazing. I said earlier in the week that this is one of the events that you'd love to have on your C.V. It's such an iconic event for the DP World Tour, and to add my name to the list of amazing champions that have been before me... to have my name on that list now is a dream come true."
He continued: "But yeah, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous on the back nine to be honest. And, yeah, I guess I just maybe wanted it a bit too much. I knew the position I was in, and a little bit scruffy down the last. But, yeah, to see that putt go in felt amazing. Just so happy to win."
While the spoils belonged to Hatton, Rory McIlroy almost muscled his way into the conversation late on via a closing round of 66, but after just running out of steam over the final two holes, the World No.3 was forced to make do with a tie for fourth alongside Niklas Norgaard on -12.
Laurie Canter played superbly to finish third on his own, carding a Sunday 68 which saw him end on 13-under, with Tom McKibbin and Shaun Norris rounding out the top-seven on 11-under.
Back at the top, Hatton and Hillier's final rounds both began with a bogey on the first before the pair made gains at the second and third holes, respectively.
Momentum truly turned in favor of the Englishman on the fifth hole when Hatton made a birdie three and Hillier suffered the first bout of his chipping woes to record a bogey five.
As the New Zealander battled to a one-over par 36 on the front nine, Hatton added another birdie prior to the turn for a 33-stroke start.
Hillier threatened to make a comeback with consecutive birdies on 10 and 11 which halved the deficit, and despite another bogey on the 12th, Hatton followed suit to ensure the one-time DP World Tour winner would remain right on his tail.
Both leaders struggled to find their groove heading down the stretch, but it was the eventual winner who managed to generate something positive first when landing an approach shot close on the 15th - ultimately setting up a tap-in birdie.
Hillier had multiple chances to join Hatton or even surpass him throughout the back nine, but the Kiwi couldn't warm his putter up sufficiently and a last-gasp birdie proved too little, too late as the LIV player justified his pre-tournament odds as one of the favorites.
HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC LEADERBOARD
-15 Tyrrell Hatton (69)
-14 Daniel Hillier (71)
-13 Laurie Canter (68)
-12 Rory McIlroy (66)
-12 Niklas Norgaard (66)
-11 Shaun Norris (69)
-11 Tom McKibbin (69)
-10 David Micheluzzi (65)
-10 Guido Migliozzi (69)
-9 Patrick Reed (67)
-9 Ryan Fox (72)
-9 Dylan Frittelli (71)
-9 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (66)
UPDATES FROM...
Jonny Leighfield
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WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR...
Firstly, hello and welcome to Golf Monthly's coverage of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic final round. Tyrrell Hatton currently leads by a couple from Daniel Hillier, but there is a queue of players lining up behind in case of a slip-up by the LIV man.
To bring you up to speed on what has occurred so far in round four, both Hatton and Hillier bogeyed the first before making gains at the second and third, respectively. Their playing partner in the final group, Ewen Ferguson, is one-over for the day after bogeying the third.
Meanwhile, Hatton has found a couple more birdies on the front nine while Hillier slipped up at the fifth to help his English rival open up a two-stroke advantage.
In a tie for third currently, David Micheluzzi has put together a quite remarkable round of seven-under, but he is almost done for the day. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (-6) and Ricardo Gouveia (-5) are two more players to have made significant strides towards the top of the leaderboard after fantastic outings.
Rory McIlroy has not long made the turn at one-under for the day and seven-under for the week, and he sits just outside the top-10 as it appears his quest for three consecutive titles is over.
But, back at the top, Hatton, Hillier, and Ferguson are on the ninth, which is where we will join the action...
Back-to-back darts. Back-to-back birdies. @TyrrellHatton moves two shots ahead in Dubai. #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/4nRX7sQrBcJanuary 19, 2025
HEADING DOWN 9
Hatton and Hillier find the centre cut down the ninth fairway, and the former takes advantage by sending his approach into the heart of the green. The New Zealander, however, has just missed the putting surface to the right and this chip will be quick with a capital Q. Water lurking behind, too. Rather him than me...
Far from the forgotten man, Ferguson lifts a beautiful chip shot high into the air and watches it roll down to a matter of feet.
Hillier quickly follows and - fair play to him - dribbles it down to six feet or so. That's a good result.
HILLIER ESCAPES
Hatton can't quite find the bottom of the hole with his birdie chance and knocks it in for par. Meanwhile, Hillier tidies up for a superb four. The gap remains two, but it could have been so much worse if not for a brilliant save by the Kiwi.
Hatton makes the turn in just 33 strokes after one early bogey and three subsequent birdies.
MCILROY KEEPS OUTSIDE CHANCE ALIVE
After making birdie at the par-5 10th for the fourth day in a row, McIlroy adds another by rolling home a mid-range putt at the par-3 11th. He's into the top-10 at nine-under - five strokes back. The World No.3 is not out of this...
SCORING DIFFERENCE
Check out this stat which has just flashed up on the TV broadcast...
Look at the difference in scoring between the front and back nine!
The scoring difference between the front and back nine this week 🤯#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/5LCxZ6H1eQJanuary 19, 2025
LEADERS BEGIN BACK NINE
Hatton continues his A+ driving standard so far today by rifling a perfect shot down the perilously narrow 10th fairway. Ferguson is not far behind, but Hillier's drive just rolled into the first cut, so that might just reduce his chances of successfully finding the green in two...
It does not reduce his chances. The Kiwi receives a dose of luck on the approach as the ball bumps into the shoulder on the edge of the green and tricks down onto the short grass. He will have an eagle putt now...
Despite a great drive, Hatton has pulled his approach and is set to chip from the rough on the opposite side of the green.
GAP REMAINS TWO
Hatton jabs his chip shot out of a gnarly lie and leaves it a matter of inches away. Particularly important for the leader after Hillier rolls his eagle putt right up to the hole's edge. Crucially for the LIV man, Hillier's putt didn't drop. So it's birdie-birdie for the leaders and it's effectively as you were at the top.
Hatton -15
Hillier -13
Canter -11
Top class, Tyrrell, appreciated by his playing partners 👍#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/acgVDZutbqJanuary 19, 2025
HILLIER PILES THE PRESSURE ON
Hatton just about finds the front edge of the green with his tee shot on the par-3 11th, but he doesn't look particularly pleased with the result. Perhaps understandable, especially as Hillier floats a sublime wedge shot into six feet.
If Hatton were to make birdie here, that would be a significant blow to Hillier - even this early on in the day.
Elsewhere, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen - an outside chance for Team Europe's Ryder Cup roster later this year - has just recorded his eighth birdie of the day and is up into a share of third on 11-under with only the par-5 18th to go. Extraordinary golf from the Dane, who would boast the lowest round of the week if he can par or better the 72nd...
HATTON'S LEAD HALVED
It didn't look great off the blade, but Hillier just about finds the left side of the hole for birdie. Hatton sent his own birdie effort an awkward distance past moments earlier, so that was an even more significant make.
Ferguson is in for par after pulling his tee shot, as is the leader who now only holds a one-stroke advantage.
LEADERS STRUGGLING
Hatton dragged his tee shot into the thickest of rough on the left side and faced a really awkward shot with the ball 10 inches above his feet. The Englishman's second stroke was poor, too, as the club's heel dug in and the ball only travelled some 100 yards - finishing in more thick rough down the left. His third shot ended on the green, but Hatton is still some 15-20 feet away for par.
Hillier was in the centre of the fairway off the tee and had a great chance of piling even more pressure on, but he got a little over-zealous and watched his ball run into the rough out the back. The resulting chip wasn't that special either, and both are struggling to make par...
TISSUES REQUIRED
Someone grab the tissue box. The final group is full of bogeys. Hillier makes his third bogey of the day and falls back to 13-under after failing to roll it home from the fringe. That happened because his chip from the back of the green was poorly executed.
Hatton also couldn't hole out from 15 feet, and Ferguson made it a hat-trick with his own five. All of a sudden, the likes of Canter and Frittelli become even more interested...
MOMENTUM LACKING
Possibly too early to say the wheels are coming off for Hatton, but his driving prowess has completely left him over the past two or three holes at least. He sliced his tee ball with far less power than he's capable of - it was an ugly shot. Hatton recovers the situation nicely, though, leaving himself a chance of a birdie four on the par-5 13th.
Things aren't much better on the Hillier side of the ring, with the New Zealander missing the green badly from the centre of the fairway.
CANTER ON THE CHARGE
Another player with an outside chance of making Luke Donald's squad in September, Laurie Canter makes birdie on the 13th to inch within two of Hatton. Canter is looking comfortable as he moves through the back nine.
Tom McKibbin cards his own birdie on 14 to reach 11-under, so he's not out of it either.
Earlier on, I said that Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen had a chance of breaking the record for lowest round of the week if he could make par or better on 18. Unfortunately, the Dane endured a horror show and finished with a double-bogey seven to drop out of the top-10...
REPRIEVE FOR HATTON
Hatton skips a wedge into 10-12 feet to set up the birdie chance, but his slippery effort just trickles to the right of the hole at dead pace. He informs his caddie of everything he's just seen, and the looper simply stands there taking it all in.
Meanwhile, Hillier wastes a great chance to pull alongside Hatton after missing a relatively simple putt from six feet or so. His third shot - a chip from the opposite side of the green - was far from vintage in terms of technique, but the result was pretty darn good. It was wasted, though, and Hillier remains one behind.
ALBATROSS FOR NAKAJIMA
It's not been shown on the TV broadcast just yet, but Keita Nakajima has reportedly made an albatross from 236 yards out on the par-5 18th! That pushes the Japanese player just inside the top-25.
ALBATROSS 👋Keita Nakajima holes out from 236 yards on 18! #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/AIzRZob3UmJanuary 19, 2025
MCILROY MAKES A MOVE WHILE HATTON HANGS ON
Hatton resumes his usual driving quality, rifling one into the heart of the fairway on 14. His approach just about finds the front of the green, so it's not bad, but the birdie putt should have been a good deal closer.
His main rival for the title, Hillier drove into the rough and then chopped into the front-left bunker. Nevertheless, the Kiwi has splashed one out of the sand and has something like six feet for par.
The contest threatened to take another slight twist after Hatton rolled his long-range birdie chance an awkward distance by. Luckily for the Englishman, he finds the hole for par.
Meanwhile, you may have heard the roars from wherever you are in the world, Rory McIlroy pours in a birdie putt from a good way out to move three behind and into a tie for fourth. The leaders are stalling and McIlroy is charging. He couldn't, could he?
COSTLY MISS FROM CANTER
Canter slips back into a group tie for third after missing a short par save on the 15th. That pushes McIlroy into an even higher position as he stands on the 17th, looking at taking on the 300-yard par 4.
FOUR HOLES TO PLAY
The 200-yard par-3 15th is a devilishly tricky hole, proved by a wide array of tee shots from the final group. Ferguson went long and left into the rough - kind of indicative of his day overall - while Hillier was a full club or two short at the front of the green. That's well within possible three-putt territory.
Hatton goes last but does the best, leaving it just past hole-high out to the right. If his putting hadn't been uncharacteristically underwhelming today, you'd feel Hatton could make a huge step towards victory here. We shall see...
TENSION BUILDING
Hillier rolls a really nice putt up towards the hole, leaving himself just a few feet for par. It's still some four feet, mind. But after gaining a reed from Hatton, who never loved his failed birdie effort, the Kiwi confidently pushed the ball into the hole.
Somehow, despite everything today, the gap is just one for Hatton. Three holes to play, tension building.
ICE IN THE VEINS
Both Hatton and Hillier drove it down the middle on 16, and with just 134 yards left, Hatton comes up clutch by sticking his approach to maybe two or three feet. Hillier is some 25 feet away, so this really has to drop for the Kiwi or it will significantly reduce his chances of winning.
A couple of holes ahead, McIlroy can only make par and will need an eagle on 18 to stand a chance of contending.
BREATHING ROOM FOR HATTON
Just when he needed it the most, Hatton finds a crucial birdie on the 16th. The gap is two strokes with two holes to play after Hillier could only lag his first putt down the near the hole-side.
Looking ahead, the groups in front are backed up by about 10 minutes, so there will be a nervous wait for the leader on the 17th...
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant from Tyrrell Hatton!" He taps in the birdie to move to -15, two shots ahead with two to play. #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/0LUTwr4p2mJanuary 19, 2025
AND STILL THEY WAIT...
As the leaders wait patiently, McIlroy has blasted a superb 3-wood down the middle of 18, only to see it roll into a divot. A brutal break for the Northern Irishman. He will still take a crack regardless.
Elsewhere, fellow Holywood Golf Club member McKibbin reaches 11-under via a lovely birdie putt just by the edge of the 17th fringe. It seems as though Canter's momentum has fizzled, unfortunately, with a clumsy chip which zips past the flag and into the rough appearing to prove his race is run.
Or is it? The Englishman stabs out said chip and finds the hole, giving it a passionate fist pump once the ball disappears. Sensational!
Up ahead, Niklas Norgaard sinks his short birdie putt to match Canter at -12.
ROUGH BREAKS
Hatton and Hillier both had a long wait. Maybe their tee shots were partially affected by that, perhaps not. Either way, the pair end right of the green in the rough, facing short-sided wedge shots. Hatton would have been sweating before he watched his playing partner end in an almost identical position.
TYRRELL HAS TWO-SHOT LEAD DOWN 18
Hillier goes first and fully commits to lobbing one up, softly landing it just a couple of feet on. From there, he'll have something like 10 feet for birdie. Moments later, Hatton produces a very similar effort but is perhaps a foot or so further away with a touch less break.
The putt was perfect in terms of line, but Hatton just didn't hit the ball hard enough and left it in the jaws. Par for the leader. Can Hillier close in? He can't. The putt never really troubled the hole.
Hatton has a two-stroke advantage heading down 18.
PAR-TY FOR THIRD-LAST GROUP
It's another awkward wait for the final groups on the 18th hole. Up ahead, Dylan Frittelli somehow sees his approach shot roll back of the front edge of the 18th green and sit precariously in the rough with the lake lurking immediately behind. He stabs it up towards the pin and watches his ball collide with the hole before staying above ground. Ultimately, the South African walks off with a par.
Shaun Norris almost jars a long-range birdie chance from a very popular spot high up on the left side of the green, but it just drifts by the left edge and he also taps in for par.
Completing the set is Tom McKibbin - a great result considering he found water off the tee and was hitting into the green with his third.
FINAL GROUP UNDERWAY ON 18
Oh, Laurie Canter, that is superb. Forced to lay up after an iffy drive, Canter flies his third right above the flag before it spins back to very makeable range. He will have his sights set on second, either on his own or alongside Hillier, after reaching 13-under thanks to that last-gasp birdie.
Eventually, the final group have teed off! Ferguson finds the first cut of rough down the left and Hillier booms a 3-wood down Broadway, but Hatton slices his own 3-wood horribly right. That will force him to lay up.
If Hillier can give himself a good eagle chance, we may not have seen the last hole of golf today as the temperature drops and late begins to fade slightly...
NERVES APLENTY
With 283 yards left to go and just inside the rough, Hatton thumps a wedge down the fairway and will have a 128 left into the green. From there, the LIV player sends another wedge deep into the green. That will be an awkward two-putt to say the least.
Moments later, Hillier hammers his second shot towards the grandstand and may well have to play from the free drop zone. Ferguson is on board and attempting to steal another shot back to save some of the money he has given away today...
DRAMA UNTIL THE END
Hillier takes his free drop from the grandstand and drifts one down to hole height, eight to 10 feet away. That was pretty impressive from the Kiwi. And it looks even better now because Hatton has provided a relatively unimpressive response with the putter. Hatton is closer, but his putt to win would never be considered anything close to a gimme. Game on!
HILLIER HOLES FOR BIRDIE
Hillier confidently rolls it in for birdie. Hatton with one putt to win it...
HATTON WINS
The moment Tyrrell claimed his FIFTH Rolex Series win 🏆 #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1Ri15uMd9VJanuary 19, 2025
Tyrrell Hatton saves par and wins the Hero Dubai Desert Classic by one stroke! That was incredibly nervy at the end there, but the Englishman closed it out in clutch style. Prime DP World Tour golf.
