DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Rory McIlroy lost the week-long $10 million DP World Tour Championship on Sunday in a playoff against Matt Fitzpatrick, but did enough to ensure he was crowned the winner of the season-long Race to Dubai champion.

"It's absolutely incredible. I knew I still had a bit of work to do to get over the line in the Race to Dubai," said McIlroy, who will remain the world No 2.

McIlroy topped the European Tour's season-ending rankings for a seventh time, and for the fourth season in a row. He broke a tie with Severiano Ballesteros and is one behind Colin Montgomerie, who achieved the feat eight times.

"It seems within touching distance now," McIlroy said. 

"I was the first European to win the Grand Slam and I'd love to be the most successful European in terms of winning Order of Merits and season-long races."

He added that Ballesteros "was always my dad's favorite player."

"When I hear Seve, it just sort of brings me back through my whole journey in the game, and yeah, it's quite emotional."

Englishman Fitzpatrick made a birdie on the 72nd hole of regulation play to finish with a 66 at the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates. A few minutes later, Northern Ireland's McIlroy sensationally eagled the same hole after a brilliant second shot to 16 feet.

On the first playoff hole, McIlroy's drive found the stream that crosses the fairway, and could only make a bogey, leaving Fitzpatrick a third-time winner of the season-ending tournament.

Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, kept his nerve for  his third DP World Tour Championship title and a 10th DP World Tour victory in 195 starts. 

Until he finished tied eighth in the PGA Championship in May, he did not have a top-10 for nearly 11 months.   

"This means the world," said Fitzpatrick, who picked up two-and-half points as Europe won the Ryder Cup in September. 

"Struggled at the start of this year, obviously, and to turn it around in the summer like I did and have a Ryder Cup like I did, it feels like it's hard to top given everything."

"I feel like I really didn't hit one bad shot all day," he said.

Four players — England's Tommy Fleetwood (67) and Laurie Canter (67), Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (66) and Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (68) — tied for third at 17-under par total.

McIlroy, the Masters champion, seemed to be motoring along when he made five birdies in his first 11 holes to move ahead  by two shots. 

A bogey on the 12th hole, where he overshot the green with his approach shot, and another dropped shot on the par-four 16th, where he found a bunker, pulled him back.

After McIlroy's long birdie putt lipped out on the 17th, he was one behind a group of four players. 

That became a two-shot deficit when Fitzpatrick made the sixth birdie of his bogey-free round on the 18th.

McIlroy responded with a towering second shot from 234 yards into headwind to 16 feet for his eagle to force the playoff.