Tyrrell Hatton rallies to land Dubai Desert Classic in major boost to Ryder Cup hopes

Tyrrell Hatton admits winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is “a dream come true” after the LIV Golf star rallied on Sunday to secure a one-stroke victory.

Holding off New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier by one and Englishman Laurie Canter by two, Hatton, one of Europe’s Ryder Cup stars, despite his move to Jon Rahm’s Legion XVIII with LIV Golf, overcame a one-stroke deficit heading into round four.

But his three-under-par 69 and 15-under total proved enough to claim a record-equalling fifth Rolex Series title. The win should see Hatton move to the top of the European team’s points list, while consolidating his place inside the Official World Golf Rankings top 10.

Hatton said: “This event and the four majors are massive for me to try earn as many points be an automatic qualifier. This is a big step in the right direction.

“It feels amazing. 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.

“To add my name to the list of the amazing champions that have been before me, and to have my name on that trophy now, it’s a dream come true.

“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous on the back nine to be honest. I guess I just maybe wanted it a bit too much.

“I knew the position I was in, and a little bit scruffy down the last. But yeah, to see that putt go in felt amazing. Just so happy to win.”

Hatton drew level with a birdie on the second but found himself behind again when he drove into a bunker at the next.

Hatton leapfrogged his playing partner at the fifth, making a gain from four feet as Hillier bogeyed after a duffed chip, and was not to be knocked off the top of the leaderboard from that point.

After a tense back nine, the decisive moment came when Hatton hit a brilliant wedge approach to the 16th that set up a tap-in birdie to send him two shots clear.

There was still time for a few jitters on the 18th, where Hatton’s conservative approach saw him leave a five-footer for par, which Hillier piled pressure on by making a nine-footer for birdie before his opponent converted to avoid a play-off.

Rory McIlroy saved his best for last as a 66 took him to 12 under for the week, with his tied-fourth finish representing his 11th consecutive top-10 in this event, a run stretching back to his victory in 2009.