Rory McIlroy wins season-long Race to Dubai title - ESPN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy captured the season-long Race to Dubai golf title on the European tour for a record-tying eighth time by finishing second at the World Tour Championship won by Tyrrell Hatton on Sunday.

McIlroy joined Colin Montgomerie atop the all-time list of winners of the previously named «Order of Merit» award, adding another significant achievement to the resume of a player who has done pretty much everything in golf — notably the career Grand Slam.

Hatton shot 6-under 66 to win the season-ending event by five strokes on 15-under par, but the main focus was on the tense fight for the year-long points title between McIlroy and young Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who arrived in Dubai atop the standings just ahead of the Northern Irishman.

In a turbulent final round in which Chacarra played one group behind McIlroy, the pair regularly exchanged places in the top two spots of the projected standings. McIlroy won out, shooting a bogey-free 67 that ultimately left him in outright second place.

Chacarra needed to eagle the par-5 18th — or get some unlikely help from a couple of players finishing their rounds after him — but neither scenario transpired. He shot 69 and tied for third, dropping him to second place in the Race to Dubai standings.

McIlroy has now won the season-long title for the last five years, as well as in 2012, 2014 and 2015.