What's happened
Jon Rahm has claimed the DP World Tour Championship at Yas Links, finishing 23-under to beat Ty Hatton and Rory McIlroy in the season-ending event. Rahm’s victory comes amid drama over his LIV departure and family news, with McIlroy slipping in the Race to Dubai standings ahead of the Dubai finale.
What's behind the headline?
Insightful analysis
- Rahm’s return to form signals strength for the European Tour as top players re-enter the fold post-LIV era.
- The win could influence future Race to Dubai dynamics, with Chacarra leading and McIlroy rising into a challenging position ahead of the Dubai finale.
- The narrative extends beyond golf: Rahm’s family moment underscores the personal pressures athletes face amid high-stakes schedules.
Forecasts: Rahm’s momentum should sustain into the World Tour Championship, with potential adjustments to European Tour power balance as players weigh moves back to traditional circuits.
How we got here
Rahm’s win caps a season in which he has returned to elite form after a controversial move from LIV. The Abu Dhabi and Yas Links events shaped the closing weeks, with Rahm re-establishing himself as a leading figure on the European Tour’s flagship events.
Our analysis
The Scotsman (Martin Dempster) reports Rahm’s closing stretch and LIV departure context; South China Morning Post details Rahm’s Week and Race to Dubai implications; New York Post summarizes Sunday’s final round and the LIV backdrop.
Go deeper
- Will Rahm carry this form into the World Tour Championship in Dubai?
- How will McIlroy adjust his Race to Dubai strategy after this week?
- What does Rahm’s return mean for players who left LIV?
More on these topics
-
Rory McIlroy - Professional golfer
Rory McIlroy MBE is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, having spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career.
-
Patrick Reed - American professional golfer
Patrick Nathaniel Reed is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He is notable for his victories in the 2018 Masters Tournament and the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship.
-
Eugenio López-Chacarra - Spanish professional golfer
Eugenio López-Chacarra (born 22 March 2000) is a Spanish professional golfer.
-
Tyrrell Hatton - British professional golfer
Tyrrell Glen Hatton (; born 14 October 1991) is an English professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour, winning eight times on the former, including five Rolex Series events. He also has one win on the PGA Tour at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, and has played on four Ryder Cup teams, winning three times. In 2024, he joined LIV Golf as a member of Jon Rahm's Legion XIII GC.
-
Abu Dhabi Championship - Horse race
The Abu Dhabi Championship, is a horse race for horses aged four and over, run at a distance of 2,200 metres (eleven furlongs) on turf in March at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Championship was first contested in 2004 and became...
-
LIV Golf - League
The Super Golf League is a proposed golf league. SGL is owned by LIV Golf, which is financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.
-
Jon Rahm - Spanish professional golfer
Jon Rahm Rodríguez is a Spanish professional golfer. He is the current world number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, having first achieved that rank after winning the Memorial Tournament in July 2020.
-
United Arab Emirates - Country in the Middle East
The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, is a sovereign state in Western Asia at the northeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south and west, as well as sharing m