LIV’s Tyrrell Hatton holds nerve to clinch ‘dream’ Dubai title from Daniel Hillier
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Tyrrell Hatton of England posing with the trophy after winning the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic 2025 Golf tournament.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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DUBAI – Englishman Tyrrell Hatton eked past New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier to win the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour by a single shot on Jan 19 at the Emirates Golf Club.
Hatton, who joined LIV Golf in 2024, earned his eighth career win on the erstwhile European Tour and his fifth on the tour’s prestigious Rolex Series – tying Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm of Spain for the all-time most.
Hatton’s final round, a three-under 69, vaulted him to 15 under for the event, while 54-hole leader Hillier could manage only a 71 and took second place at 14 under.
“I said earlier in the week, this is one of the events that you would like to have on your CV. It’s such an iconic event for the DP World Tour,” said Hatton, who won in Dubai for the first time.
“To add my name to the list of the amazing champions that have been before me, and yeah, to have my name on that trophy now, yeah, it’s a dream come true.”
Hatton, 33, recovered from an opening bogey by birdying Nos. 2, 5, 6 and 10. Despite another bogey at No. 12, he reached the par-four 16th hole with a one-shot advantage over Hillier.
His approach shot landed just a few feet from the pin, setting up what turned out to be the game-winning birdie.
Hatton, who was No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking entering the week and unable to earn ranking points in LIV events, jumped into the top 10 at No. 8 with the victory.
“This event and the four Majors this year are massive for me to try and earn as many points as I can to try and be an automatic qualifier for the European Ryder Cup team,” he said.
“This is a big step in the right direction. So happy with that, and looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot his best round of the week, a 66, for a late charge up the leaderboard. He finished in a tie for fourth at 12 under with Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard (also 66 on Jan 19), one behind third-place Englishman Laurie Canter (68).
It was McIlroy’s 11th consecutive top-10 finish at the event.
“I probably just left myself a bit too much to do after three days. I had chances and I was burning the edges,” he said. “Felt like I putted pretty well without anything going in and then didn’t really feel like I played that differently the way I played the last few days.
“I just held a couple of putts and made a couple of good up-and-downs when I had to. I feel like I got progressively better as the week went on, which bodes well for obviously the next few weeks.”
REUTERS
