McIlroy claims 4th straight Race to Dubai title in playoff loss to Matt Fitzpatrick

DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP Matt Fitzpatrick won the DP World Tour Championship with a par on first playoff hole against Rory McIlroy who ended his banner year with fitting drama and a fourth consecutive Race to Dubai title as Europe s No sportsman Fitzpatrick birdied the th hole in regular for a -under McIlroy knew he needed eagle to catch him and did just that hitting his approach on the par closing hole to feet and making the putt for a He also made eagle on the last hole to force a playoff McIlroy won in the Irish Open But in this playoff McIlroy drove into a creek and made bogey He had won three times in playoff this year at the Masters The Players Championship and Irish Open Fitzpatrick won the season finale for the third time McIlroy still had reason to celebrate with his seventh time finishing as Europe s No member one short of the record held by Colin Montgomerie PGA Tour SOUTHHAMPTON Bermuda AP Adam Schenk closed with an even-par in raging wind to hold on for a one-shot win in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship his first PGA Tour title in tries Schenk was two tournaments away from having to return to Q-school at No in the FedEx Cup And then he handled several of the toughest conditions he ever faced making one birdie and four crucial par saves in gusts that topped mph His final par save came on the th when he made a -foot putt to finish one ahead of Chandler Phillips Phillips was at No and his runner-up finish the best of his PGA Tour career moved him to No and should make him safe for a card Takumi Kanaya of Japan had a chance to catch Schenk one shot behind and playing with him in the final group The wind was so strong out of the left that his approach ballooned and landed in a back bunker He hit a superb shot to feet but his wind-affected par putt lipped out He tied for third LPGA Tour BELLEAIR Fla AP Linn Grant of Sweden had so much control of her tournament that she played holes without a bogey a streak that ended on the final hole when it no longer mattered She closed with a -under for a three shot conquest in The Annika She finished at -under and had a chance to set the tournament record until a bogey on the final hole her first one since her opening hole Friday Jennifer Kupcho stayed close until she made bogey on the par- ninth and Grant made a -foot birdie for a three-shot lead No one got any closer the rest of the way Kupcho was runner-up Brooke Matthews also came away a winner in two respects She made a hole-in-one with a -iron from yards on the th hole to win a two-year lease on a Lamborghini Hurac n She shot and was among those moving into the top to qualify for the season finale next week in Naples Other tours Kota Kaneko won his second Japan Golf Tour title with a -under to complete a six-shot win in the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters Ekpharit Wu of Thailand shot -under to rally for a two-shot success over Chien-yao Hung in the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open The domination for Wu in his rookie season on the Asian Tour gets him into the million Saudi International next week Chris Wood closed with a -under and won the Ford NSW Open with a -foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole It was his second title on the PGA Tour of Australasia J C Ritchie closed with a -under to win the Stella Artois Players Championship by two shots on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa Hana Wakimoto pulled away with a -under for a three-shot accomplishment in the Itoen Ladies on the Japan LPGA AP golf https apnews com hub golf Source