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Luiten Leads in Dubai as McIlroy Gains on Chacarra
Joost Luiten shot a 5 under 67 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first
Photo by Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tyrrell Hatton closed out the 2026 DP World Tour Championship at 15 under, winning the $10 million season finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates by 5 strokes. Rory McIlroy finished second, but it was enough to hand him an eighth Race to Dubai title, tying Colin Montgomerie's record for the most in the history of the European game's season-long points race.
- Hatton's ninth: Tyrrell Hatton won the 2026 DP World Tour Championship at 15 under (273), his ninth DP World Tour win and sixth Rolex Series title, worth $3 million.
- McIlroy ties Monty: Rory McIlroy finished second, 5 strokes back, but claimed his eighth Race to Dubai title, tying Colin Montgomerie's all-time record.
- The margin: McIlroy's 5,044.86 points beat Eugenio Chacarra's 4,919.79, a gap of 125.07 points, for the Race to Dubai itself.
- Chacarra's finish: Chacarra fell from the Race to Dubai lead entering the week to a tie for third at the DP World Tour Championship, and still secured a PGA Tour card.
- Ten cards: Ten players, including Chacarra and Patrick Reed, earned PGA Tour cards for 2027 through the final Race to Dubai standings.
Hatton's win
The 2026 DP World Tour Championship ran November 12 to 15 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, the tour's season finale and its Race to Dubai decider. Hatton's closing total of 273, 15 under par, was enough to win by 5 strokes over McIlroy, according to europeantour.com. It's his ninth DP World Tour win and his sixth Rolex Series title, the tour's flagship tier of events. The win is worth $3 million, the winner's share of the week's $10 million purse.
Luiten led after the first round, already 1 shot up on Jacob Skov Olesen, with McIlroy 3 shots clear of Chacarra at that point. Luiten's lead didn't survive the week, but McIlroy's edge over Chacarra did: he stayed ahead through Sunday, closing at 10 under to Chacarra's 8 under, while Hatton played through both of them to win the tournament outright.
The Race to Dubai, decided
The DP World Tour Championship is the last event on the Race to Dubai points list, and the points race ran separately from the tournament leaderboard. McIlroy entered the week chasing Chacarra, who had led the season-long standings into the finale, and came out of it with 5,044.86 points to Chacarra's 4,919.79 on the final Race to Dubai rankings, a margin of 125.07 points that ESPN also reported.
That's McIlroy's eighth Race to Dubai title, a mark that ties Colin Montgomerie's record for the most in the competition's history. Hatton, who won the tournament itself, finished third in the separate Race to Dubai points standings, his best-ever finish in that competition, worth a $750,000 bonus. Patrick Reed finished fourth in the Race to Dubai and took home a $550,000 bonus. The week before the finale, Jon Rahm won the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Chacarra's season turns
Eugenio Chacarra's year ran in the opposite direction to McIlroy's. He won the DP World India Championship to take the Race to Dubai lead into the finale, then closed the season with a tie for third at the DP World Tour Championship, carding a final-round 69 at 8 under for the week.
The finish cost him the Race to Dubai title, but it still secured his route to the PGA Tour. Chacarra's Race to Dubai standing earns him a PGA Tour card for the 2027 season, alongside dual membership between the two tours.
Leaderboard
Behind Hatton and McIlroy, Oliver Lindell joined Chacarra in a tie for third at 8 under, 7 strokes back. Five players shared fifth at 7 under, 8 strokes back: Jacob Skov Olesen, Kristoffer Reitan, Francesco Laporta, Mikael Lindberg and Victor Perez, per the final leaderboard carried by Golf Monthly.
| Position | Player | To par | Shots back |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyrrell Hatton | -15 | Winner |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy | -10 | 5 |
| T3 | Oliver Lindell | -8 | 7 |
| T3 | Eugenio Chacarra | -8 | 7 |
| T5 | Jacob Skov Olesen | -7 | 8 |
| T5 | Kristoffer Reitan | -7 | 8 |
| T5 | Francesco Laporta | -7 | 8 |
| T5 | Mikael Lindberg | -7 | 8 |
| T5 | Victor Perez | -7 | 8 |
What's next
The result also settled the final 10 PGA Tour cards awarded through the Race to Dubai for the 2027 season, per europeantour.com and Golf Magic: Chacarra, Reed, Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, Daniel Hillier, Jacob Skov Olesen, Oliver Lindell, Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger and Joe Dean. Victor Perez's tie for fifth in Dubai didn't carry him into that group. Those 10 players now move into 2027 with status on both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the DP World Tour Championship 2026?
Tyrrell Hatton won the 2026 DP World Tour Championship at 15 under (273), 5 strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy. It's his ninth DP World Tour win and sixth Rolex Series title.
Who won the Race to Dubai in 2026?
Rory McIlroy won the 2026 Race to Dubai, his eighth title, tying Colin Montgomerie's all-time record. He finished second at the DP World Tour Championship itself, with Tyrrell Hatton taking that tournament.
By how many points did McIlroy win the Race to Dubai?
McIlroy won the Race to Dubai with 5,044.86 points to runner-up Eugenio Chacarra's 4,919.79, a margin of 125.07 points.
Sources: europeantour.com, ESPN, Golf Monthly, Golf Digest Middle East, Golf Magic.
Featured image: Tyrrell Hatton at the 2025 Ryder Cup, a file photo. Photo by Bryan Berlin via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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