Englishman Luke Donald became the first golfer to win both the PGA Tour and European Tour money titles, finishing third in the Dubai World Championship on Sunday behind winner Alvaro Quiros.
Dressed in Callaway golf clothing, Quiros made a 40-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole for a two-shot victory over 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie.
World number one Donald, who won the PGA title earlier this year, had to finish better than ninth or hope Rory McIlroy didn’t win the tournament. McIlroy, fatigued with a virus all week, tied for 11th at 9-under 279. That left McIlroy more than `$1.34 million behind 34 year old Donald in the money race.
“It’s funny to kind of sum up my feelings,” said Donald, who has just come back from five weeks off in which he buried his father and was on hand for the birth of his second child.
“You know, this is something I’ve wanted for the past few months, to try and win both money lists,” Donald said. “It’s very strange because I looked at the leaderboard on 13 and couldn’t see Rory. I couldn’t see Rory’s name on there and the leaders were playing well, and at that point, I kind of knew I had made history and the last six holes were kind of surreal.”
Spaniard Quiros had a final-round 5-under 67 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish at 269. Donald finished three shots behind Quiros after he ran off three birdies in a row for a 6-under 66.
Donald earned nearly $6.7 million on the PGA Tour this year, and about $5.3 million on the European Tour.