He laughed and joked with playing partners, even when faced with a 10-minute wait on the last two tee shots at a slow-moving Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Tyrrell Hatton even gave a thoughtful on-course TV interview mid-round during the final day of what ended up being his eighth career DP World Tour victory. Not to mention the clutch shots he hit on the back nine to hold off a charging Rory McIlroy and the event’s runner-up, Daniel Hillier.
It turns out Hatton, who destroyed a plastic tee marker on the seventh hole a day earlier in the third round at the Emirates Golf Club, saved his composure for when it counts most.
The Englishman, who was T-9 at the Masters last year and now plays on LIV Golf with Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team, shot a final-round 69. At 15-under-par (273) Hatton won the DP World Tour’s first Rolex Series event of 2025 by one shot over New Zealand’s Hillier (71), while England’s Laurie Canter was third at 13 under. Hatton and Rahm were among six LIV golfers able to tee it up in Dubai given their league does not start up until early February.
A telling early sign of Hatton’s calmer demeanour came at the fifth hole Sunday at the Majlis Course when he was asked to do a walk-and-talk TV interview between the tee and fairway. Sky Sports’ Tim Barter asked the 33-year-old if he realized he was making his 200th DP World Tour start.
“You’ve had seven wins, 57 top 10s, $120,000 per start. How do you feel about that?” Barter probed.
“That’s actually mad to hear that; I can’t believe this is my 200th event,” Hatton said. “Mind you, I look like I’ve had a tough paper route, don’t I? I’ve got few more wrinkles. But I’d like to have a few more wins, too.”
Composure, too, came in the form of his patient decision at the par-5 18th with victory in the balance. When Hatton mishit his 3-wood tee shot, overnight leader Hillier saw a door opening to force a playoff. Hatton laid up from the rough before overcooking a wedge approach. The former winner on the PGA Tour at Bay Hill then left himself with a five-foot par putt for the win given Hillier had made a timely birdie. That left Hatton with a knee-knocker that will undoubtedly impact his hopes of automatic qualification for Europe in September’s Ryder Cup.
He buried it and let out a primal scream. Composure was no longer needed.
The moment Tyrrell claimed his FIFTH Rolex Series win 🏆 #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1Ri15uMd9V
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 19, 2025
“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous on the back nine,” Hatton said. “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 to see that putt go in was amazing. Just so happy to win.”
Hatton revered the Hero Dubai Desert Classic growing up as a junior golfer in Buckinghamshire. While his DP World Tour trophy cabinet included the 2020 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the European circuit’s flagship event, and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews last year for a third time, Dubai was one of his most meaningful victories.
“I think my first year [playing the event] in 2014 was a surreal experience,” he said. “The kid inside me back then was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ I remember as a kid, waking up early in the morning on Thursday and Friday and being excited to watch the Desert Classic.”
For the first time in three years, the event was not won by McIlroy, who was gunning for a fifth career win at the Emirates. The four-time major winner fired a 66 on Sunday to finish T-4 at 12 under. The Northern Irishman started the day seven shots off the lead but reeled off six birdies between the third and 16th holes to be an outside chance. At the 18th, McIlroy’s tee shot settled in a fairway divot, but the World No. 3 carved a majestic 5-wood for his second shot that faded toward the hole and left a good chance at eagle. He missed it, but a birdie left McIlroy walking away from his 2025 debut with optimism.

Rory McIlroy – Pedro Salado
“I left myself too much to do after three days,” said McIlroy, who now has 12 consecutive top 10 finishes in Dubai. “I had chances, I was burning the edges.
“I think playing a week like this, it sort of gives me a good appreciation for what I need to do the next few weeks.”
As for Hatton, victory could not have come at a better time in the Ryder Cup cycle as he turns his attention to LIV Golf’s opening event in Saudi Arabia next month. Since the qualification period began last Fall, Hatton, when he has teed it up on the DP World Tour, has finished T-18, T-10, 1, 2, 6, 5, 1. He is also projected to vault to the top of the European team’s points list after the Dubai win and to No. 8 on the Official World Golf Rankings.
“This event and the four majors are massive for me to try earn as many points be an automatic qualifier,” Hatton said. “This is a big step in the right direction.”
Main Image: FADEL SENNA