McIlroy claims season-long title on European tour for record-tying 8th time as Hatton wins in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — 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 by the small matter of around 125 points.

McIlroy has now won the season-long title for the last five years, as well as in 2012, ‘14 and ’15, and he was congratulated by Chacarra outside the scorer's hut.

“Deserved winner,” Chacarra said, before McIlroy made a video call to his family — “stress, stress, stress,” he was heard saying — and then gave an emotional TV interview in which he dedicated the title to his father, Gerry, who has been in hospital for the last two months.

“He underwent a huge operation at the end of September and is recovering well, thankfully,” McIlroy said, before adding tearfully: “When I left to come to the Middle East, I went up to Cleveland to see him and he said to me, ‘Go win the Race to Dubai.’ This one's for him."

Chacarra said he was proud of the way he took the fight to McIlroy on his first appearance at the World Tour Championship and in his first full season on the European tour.

“I just came (up) short,” the 26-year-old Chacarra said. "That’s the beauty of golf.

“Obviously, when you play with the best in the world ... he’s played here 14, 15 times, you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did.”

A consolation for Chacarra in his breakthrough year was becoming one of 10 players to secure places on next season’s PGA Tour that were available to European tour members not otherwise exempt.

Three of them — including Chacarra — were formerly on the LIV golf circuit. The others are Patrick Reed and Bernd Wiesberger.

Players typically are banned by the PGA Tour for one year dating to their last LIV appearance. Reed chose in January not to renew his LIV deal and was eligible to return to the PGA Tour for the FedEx Cup Fall, but opted instead to try to win the Race to Dubai title. He was tied for the 31st on Sunday and finished fourth in the season-long points standings.

Wiesberger returned to the European tour in 2024 after playing two seasons at LIV.

Also getting a card for the PGA Tour were South Africans Casey Jarvis and Jayden Schaper, Daniel Hillier of New Zealand, Jakob Skov Olesen of Denmark, Oliver Lindell of Finland, and English players Andy Sullivan and Joe Dean.

Just six years ago, Dean was delivering groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic. He kept doing it for nearly four years to help fund his golf career when he didn’t have a card, and now he is heading across the Atlantic.

See AP’s full golf coverage here

Tyrrell Hatton of England reacts after winning the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Tyrrell Hatton of England, center, receives the World Tour Golf Championship trophy after winning the final round in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, center, holds the Race to Dubai trophy during the World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after he finishes 18th green during the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Tyrrell Hatton of England plays his second shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Eugenio Chacarra of Spain watches his shot from the ninth hole during the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits from the ninth fairway during the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his second shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Tour Golf Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders said Sunday that Myanmar has failed to comply with a 2021 peace plan and that its military and other armed groups continue to attack civilians, prompting them to extend a ban on Myanmar's leader attending the bloc's annual summits.

The stern rebuke by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who opened their annual summit meetings in the Philippine capital on Sunday, came during a review of the progress on the five-point peace plan by the country's military-backed government. Myanmar is a member of the 11-nation regional bloc.

ASEAN leaders proposed the plan in April 2021 to try to ease the violence that erupted after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The army’s takeover triggered widespread pro-democracy protests that were brutally quashed, leading to armed resistance and a civil war that has spread over much of the country.

The leaders reiterated “deep concern” over insufficient progress in implementing the peace plan. They urged all parties and stakeholders in Myanmar, "in particular the armed forces, security forces and armed groups to de-escalate violence and stop targeted attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure and enhance trust-building efforts.”

Last month, a United Nations rights investigator said the military-backed government in Myanmar was intentionally attacking civilians to terrorize them and force them into submission.

The leaders said the ban on Myanmar’s leader and foreign minister attending ASEAN summit meetings would continue “until there is meaningful progress in the implementation” of the peace plan. The plan calls, among others, for an immediate end to hostilities and the start of dialogue mediated by the regional bloc’s special envoy.

Under the ban, Myanmar can be represented only by lower-level career diplomats, including at the ongoing ASEAN meetings in Manila. Myanmar was due to hold ASEAN's rotating chair this year and host its multiple regional meetings, but because of the civil strife, the role passed to the Philippines.

“There’s still certain bombings and displacement of Myanmar people so step-by-step, we give it to them, how they’re going to tackle this issue, and we’ll monitor that,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, ASEAN’s current special envoy to Myanmar, said in a news conference in Manila.

The three-day summit, which includes scheduled talks with world leaders led by U.S. President Donald Trump, will focus on conflicts, including the war in Myanmar, according to drafts of post-summit communiques seen by The Associated Press.

Activists and student protesters hold signs and banners during a demonstration against Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing at a building in Quezon City, Philippines, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Angie de Silva)

Myanmar Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department Han Win Aung arrives for the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit retreat sessions in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)

From left, Myanmar Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department Han Win Aung, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hangchuon Naron and Laotian Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith pose for a picture during the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit retreat sessions in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)

Myanmar Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department Han Win Aung , left, waits for the start of the ASEAN Leaders' Interface with Representatives of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (Rolex Dela Pena/Pool Photo via AP)