DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy capped off a tumultuous year by winning the World Tour Championship and his sixth title as Europe’s No. 1 player. He birdied two of the last three holes Sunday for a 3-under 69 to win by two over Rasmus Hojgaard.
McIlroy hit wedge to within a foot on the 16th hole to break out of a tie with Hojgaard, then closed with a 6-foot birdie for his third title in the European tour’s season finale.
He won the Race to Dubai — previously known as the Order of Merit — for the sixth time in his career, leaving him two behind the record held by Colin Montgomerie and tying him with the late Seve Ballesteros.
Hojgaard, who rallied to stun McIlroy in the Irish Open in September, didn’t make a birdie over the final 11 holes and had to settle for a 71.
Antoine Rozner tied for third and was one of 10 players who earned PGA Tour cards next year. Hojgaard leads the list. Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland birdied the final hole to get the 10th and final card.
LPGA Tour
BELLEAIR, Fla. (AP) —Nelly Korda was back to competition for the first time in nearly two months and didn’t miss a beat. She ran off five straight birdies on the back nine to stage another Sunday comeback, closing with a 3-under 67 to win The Annika for her seventh LPGA Tour title this year.
Korda had a rough start and said she didn’t have many happy thoughts when she made the turn at 2 over for the day, two shots behind Charley Hull. Starting with a birdie on No. 11, she made five in a row on her way to a three-shot victory.
Korda, who earlier this year tied an LPGA record with five straight victories, became the first player to win seven times in a season since Yani Tseng in 2011. No other American had won seven times in a season since Beth Daniel in 1990.
Hull, going for a wire-to-wire win, simply couldn’t keep up. She closed with a 1-over 71 and tied for second with LPGA rookie Jin Hee Im (68) and Weiwei Zhang (70).
PGA Tour
SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Rafael Campos felt like he was living a fairy tale Sunday when he went from being on the verge of losing his PGA Tour card to winning the Bermuda Championship, just six days after his wife gave birth to their first child in time to let him play.
Campos hit 2-iron to 2 feet for eagle on the par-5 seventh hole during a surge that carried him to a 3-under 68 for a three-shot victory, joining the late Chi Chi Rodriguez as the only players from Puerto Rico to win on the PGA Tour.
The 36-year-old Campos has never played in a major. Now he’s going to the Masters. This was only his second full year on the PGA Tour. The win makes him exempt through 2026.
He won by three shots over Andrew Novak, who shot 71 for his best PGA Tour finish. Campos, who finished at 19-under 265, earned $1.242 million and a two-year exemption.
Japan Golf Tour
MIYAZAKI, Japan (AP) — Max McGreevy won for the third time this year, closing with a 2-under 69 that keeping a strong field at bay to capture the Dunlop Phoenix on the Japan Golf Tour.
McGreevy won by four shots over a group that included Japan's biggest golf start, Hideki Matsuyama, who closed with a 66 and shared runner-up status with Akshay Bhatia and Shaun Norris.
McGreevy, a 29-year-old from Oklahoma, won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this year that allowed him to regain his PGA Tour card. He was playing on a sponsor exemption at the Dunlop Phoenix, one of the top Japan Golf Tour events with past champions that include Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson.
Other tours
Lucas Herbert won for the first time on home soil, making up a four-shot deficit in the fourth round against Cameron Smith with a 4-under 67 to win the New South Wales Open on the PGA Tour Australasia. Herbert and Smith are teammates in LIV Golf. Smith, who started the final round with a two-shot lead, did not make a birdie until the ninth hole and shot 75 to tie for second with Alexander Simpson (70) and Corey Lamb (72). ... Suteepat Prateeptienchai closed with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open on the Asian Tour. ... Dean Burmester closed with a 6-under 66 for a seven-shot victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final-Oubaai on the Sunshine Tour. ... Miyuu Yamashita closed with a 3-under 68 and defeated Ai Suzuki by two shots to win the Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open. Yamashita has two wins and eight runner-up finishes this year on the Japan LPGA. ... Da Som Ma won for the third straight week on the Korea LPGA with a 5-under 67, winning with a birdie on the second playoff hole in the Wemix Championship.
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