Abu Dhabi Championship: Jon Rahm beats Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy to Rolex Series win and boosts Race to Dubai hopes

Rahm mixed six birdies with a lone bogey during a five-under 67 at Yas Links GC, lifting him to 23 under on his tournament debut and closing out a record sixth Rolex Series victory.

The Spaniard took a one-shot lead into the final day at Yas Links GC and briefly lost his overnight advantage with Hatton, McIlroy and Francesco Laporta all leading at various points during an eventful Sunday.

Hatton finished second ahead of McIlroy, who made a birdie-eagle start to his final round before finishing four strokes back in third - his 11th top-three finish in 15 starts in Abu Dhabi, with Laporta ending in fourth spot on 17 under.

McIlroy moved above Patrick Reed into second and became Eugenio Chacarra's closest challenger in the season-long standings, while Rahm's victory - his first since departing LIV Golf - keeps him in contention to win the Race to Dubai.

How Rahm beat Ryder Cup team-mates to victory

McIlroy - playing in the penultimate group - made the dream start to his final round when he drove the green at the 378-yard par-four first and two-putted for birdie, then holed a putt from nearly 50 feet to eagle the par-five second.

The Northern Irishman dropped a shot at the par-four third, where Rahm undid his opening-hole birdie by finding two fairway bunkers and making bogey, as Laporta pulled ahead after posting two birdies in his first three holes.

Rahm set up a close-range birdie at the fifth and holed from 25 feet to add another at the next, as Hatton also made back-to-back gains, only for Laporta to take advantage of the par-five seventh and pull level with the Spaniard.

McIlroy cancelled out a bogey at the sixth by birdieing the next but was still two behind until he started his back nine with successive birdies, making it a three-way tie at the top.

Rahm and Laporta edged back ahead with two-putt birdies at the par-five 11th, before a two-shot swing next saw Rahm convert from close range as his playing partner made bogey.

Laporta's title challenge ended with a triple-bogey at the par-three 13th, while McIlroy experienced a cold putter on the back nine and saw his hopes dashed when he missed from five feet to save par at the 15th.

Rahm tidied up from four feet to match the birdie of Hatton at the 15th, keeping him two ahead of the Englishman with three to play, with pars over the closing three holes enough to complete a first DP World Tour win since before he joined LIV Golf.

"It's been quite a while since I've played good in a DP World Tour event!" Rahm admitted. "As far as I'm concerned, except the shot on 17, I played a pretty flawless back nine.

"After everything that's gone on, and some poor play, and some battles mentally, with a lot of noise, to come back out [and win] after a little bit of rest after having a new baby, it's quite special."

McIlroy rues missed chances but boosts Race to Dubai hopes

Race to Dubai leader Chacarra ended tied-22nd and Patrick Reed finished tied-43rd, allowing McIlroy to move within 533.93 points of No 1 spot and maintain his push for a record-equalling eighth Order of Merit title.

"It was a week where I felt like I had my chances," McIlroy said. "Especially today, birdieing 10 and 11 on the back to get tied for the lead, then I had two good chances on 12 and 13 and didn't make those. Had to scramble for par on 14 and then I just couldn't keep my momentum going.

"It was a good week. I saw some encouraging signs in the game. I'm going to be in that final group going out on Thursday. I obviously would have loved to have won the tournament, but enough positive signs to feel good about going into next week."

On the challenge of holding off McIlroy, Chacarra said: "It [Race to Dubai] is hard. He's the No 2 player in the world and the No 1 in Europe and he's been doing it for a long time. Obviously the odds are on him and he's the favourite, but we'll play golf.

"We know what I'm capable of when I am playing good. There was a lot of good this week, but I just need to sharpen the bat to have a chance next week."

The DP World Tour season reaches its climax next week at the DP World Tour Championship, where only the top 50 available players in the Race to Dubai standings are eligible to compete.

Watch all four rounds of the DP World Tour Championship live on Sky Sports, with coverage of the opening round from 7am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Get the latest Sky Sports deals or stream golf and more sport with no contract.