Race to Dubai:Rory McIlroy's bid to win the Race to Dubai and top the European Order of Merit was blown away by Lee Westwood today, when the Englishman carded an eight-under-par 64 at the Earth Course in the UAE to finish top of the pile.
McIlroy led the money list prior to the final event but could do nothing about the form of his nearest challenger who finished 23 under for the tournament, six shots ahead of Ross McGowan and eight ahead of the 20-year-old Irishman.
Two strokes in front at the start of the last day, Westwood set a new record for the recently-opened course.
With a €827,448 tournament first prize and a further €993,100 from a bonus pool for the top 15 money winners, Westwood finished the year with a record total of almost €4.2million.
"I'm a bit speechless really," he said afterwards. "In all fairness I think that's about as good as I've ever played under this pressure.
"It's definitely the biggest moment of my golfing life to date. I knew that before I set out and it gives me a lot of confidence that I was able to hold myself together - until now."
With that the world number four's eyes welled up with the emotion of it all.
Nine years after coming from behind Darren Clarke to take the money list crown, Westwood this time left another stablemate to reflect on what might have been.
The 20-year-old entered the final event more than €120,000 ahead of Westwood. He endured a frustrating start this morning as he tried to make up ground and lost his cool on the the seventh hole. Having seen Westwood had turned it into a one-man show with a flying start, he smashed a club into an advertising hoarding and had to pull it out. That will almost certainly lead to a fine.
But he was able to smile about it afterwards and was soon reflecting on what was a superb attempt to become the youngest Tour number one since Seve Ballesteros at 19 in 1976.
"Lee deserves it," he said after also missing out on entering the world's top 10 for the first time.
Second place would have given him that, but it was still a pay-day of nearly €1million.
"It's an unbelievable amount of money but that's not why I was playing today. I was trying to win," he said. "I have no complaints. I gave it my best shot and it's been a great season, but Lee is just in a different class.
"Most times coming here leading and then finishing third would be good enough, but even if I'd played well I'm not sure I could have got to 23 under."
He had predicted a winning score in the mid-teens and finished 15 under.
McIlroy added: "Lee's been through the highs and lows of this game and he's back.
"He's played fantastically well for two years and I suppose this is his reward for persevering."
Westwood went from world number four in 2001 to outside the top 250 a year later, but is now back up to fourth.
He celebrated the final putt by stretching his arms out wide and leaning over backwards, just like Andrew Flintoff did after he ran out Ricky Ponting on the final day of The Ashes this summer.
Flintoff is another stablemate and was watching by the green. "I thought he'd like it," said Westwood.
McIlroy had been joint leader after 15 holes of the third round but bogeyed the last three to fall five behind, and while he parred the first eight on the last day Westwood birdied five of the first seven.
When another came at the 10th he was seven clear of McGowan, who to his credit then reeled off five successive birdies and yet still got no closer than four.
McIlroy found his form again with six birdies and another at the last would have put him in the world's top 10.
But it would not have troubled Westwood and, knowing that, he bogeyed the par five for the second day running and McGowan's two closing dropped shots widened the gap to Westwood again.
Dubliner Pádraig Harrington finished with a 68 to take fourth place and 15th in the Race to Dubai.
Collated final round scores & totals in the European Tour THE DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, Irish in bold, par 72):
265Lee Westwood 66 69 66 64
271Ross McGowan 71 66 66 68
273 Rory McIlroy 68 69 69 67
274Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 69 68 67, Pádraig Harrington 68 69 69 68
275Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 69 67 69
276Adam Scott (Aus) 68 73 67 68, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 67 69 69
278Peter Hanson (Swe) 72 71 66 69, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 68 69 69, Ian Poulter 71 74 68 65
279Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 71 66 71 71
280Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 72 68 70, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 68 70 70 72, Robert Allenby (Aus) 65 72 73 70
281Anthony Wall 71 71 70 69, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 69 71 69 72, Oliver Wilson 71 72 70 68, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 68 70 73 70, Camilo Villegas (Col) 66 71 73 71, Bradley Dredge 70 71 68 72
282Johan Edfors (Swe) 69 70 71 72
283Jamie Donaldson 73 70 69 71, Scott Strange (Aus) 73 67 73 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 73 69 68 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 71 71 70 71
284Anders Hansen (Den) 73 69 70 72, Gareth Maybin 71 69 74 70, Graeme Storm 78 66 67 73
285Francesco Molinari (Ita) 72 68 71 74, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 73 69 71 72, James Kingston (Rsa) 73 73 67 72, Graeme McDowell 76 70 71 68, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 71 73 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 67 75 72, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 70 73 72 70
286Martin Kaymer (Ger) 71 71 72 72, Luke Donald 73 72 71 70, Simon Dyson 70 73 70 73, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 70 73 74 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 74 70 72
287Chris Wood 66 78 68 75, David Drysdale 72 73 73 69, Ross Fisher 73 71 70 73, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 73 72 73 69, Peter Lawrie 71 70 76 70, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 69 75 73 70, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 72 71 74 70
288Nick Dougherty 69 72 73 74
289Robert Rock 74 70 69 76, Justin Rose 72 75 73 69, Ernie Els (Rsa) 74 74 70 71
290Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 74 72 74 70
291 Damien McGrane 74 70 76 71,Steve Webster 75 73 73 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 73 73 73 72, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 75 72 73 71
295Danny Willett 76 70 73 76
