Happy Tyrrell Hatton races past Rory McIlroy to win in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Englishman Tyrrell Hatton shot a sparkling 6-under-par 66 in the final round on Sunday to win the season-opening Abu Dhabi Championship by four strokes after overnight leader Rory McIlroy faded with an uninspired even-par 72 to drop into third.
Hatton finished at 18 under par and secured a sixth European Tour title, a victory that will go a long way towards securing a second Ryder Cup appearance in September.
Australia’s Jason Scrivener recorded an eagle and five birdies in a back-nine 29 to claim second place on 14 under, with McIlroy a shot further back following a disappointing final round.
Full-field scores from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
McIlroy held a one-shot advantage at the start on Sunday and doubled his lead thanks to birdies on the second and third, but three-putted the fourth and also dropped a shot on the par-5 eighth following a poor drive.
Playing competitor Hatton matched McIlroy’s birdie on the second and also picked up shots on the seventh and ninth to reach the turn with a two-shot lead.
McIlroy looked certain to close the gap when he found the par-5 10th in two, inches closer to the hole than Hatton was in three, but Hatton holed from 35 feet for an unlikely birdie and McIlroy two-putted for his.
A bogey on the 11th dropped McIlroy further off the pace and Hatton made certain of victory with birdies on the 13th and 16th holes.
McIlroy now has four second-place finishes, four thirds and a fifth in his last 10 starts in Abu Dhabi, but will be disappointed at failing to claim his first win since November 2019, especially after starting with a superb 64.
The Abu Dhabi Championship begins a run of three events in the Gulf swing – the Dubai Desert Classic and the Saudi International come next.