DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy survived a late scare and finished his frustrating season on a high, winning both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai crown on Sunday.

McIlroy got the better of overnight leader Andy Sullivan over the back nine to clinch the European Tour’s season-ending tournament.

The third-ranked Northern Irishman shot 6-under 66 with eight birdies to finish on 21-under 267, one stroke ahead of Sullivan (68).

England’s Danny Willett, who started the tournament 1,613 points behind McIlroy in the Race to Dubai and needed to beat him to become the European No. 1 for the first time in his career, finished tied for fourth on 13-under 275 after shooting 70.

South Africa’s Branden Grace shot 5-under 67 in the final round to finish third on 273.

McIlroy had an anxious moment late in the day when his tee shot on the par-3 17th found the water and threatened to nullify his advantage at that stage.

But the 26-year-old McIlroy made a brilliant 40-feet putt to limit the damage to a bogey, which gave him a one-shot lead going to the 18th where he and Sullivan made par.

“In hindsight, I probably should have gone with a different club and a different shot,” McIlroy said of his problems at the 17th. “It’s definitely probably the longest putt I’ve ever made for a bogey. I don’t think there’s been one that’s come at a better time. So, yeah, definitely the best bogey of my career.”

McIlroy also won the Race to Dubai title as the European Tour’s No. 1 player for the year, the third time he has secured the honor after winning in 2012 and 2014.

“To be European No. 1 for the third time in four years, that was a goal of mine at the start of the year. It was a goal of mine in the middle of the year and it was definitely a goal coming into these last few weeks,” he said.

McIlroy’s closest rival for the Race to Dubai was Willett, who made early birdies to climb to third place on the leaderboard, but both McIlroy and Sullivan had enough birdies of their own to stay comfortably clear. Willett needed to finish ahead of McIlroy in the tournament.

Sullivan had two birdies in the first two holes, and four in the first six. McIlroy bogeyed the fourth and trailed Sullivan by three shots at one stage, despite birdies on Nos. 5, 6 and 7.

But the birdies stopped for Sullivan as he started spraying his tee shots, and McIlroy edged ahead with two crucial birdies on the 14th and 15th holes.

Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic golf course – slowed by environmental lawsuits, land ownership disputes and doubts it even needed to be built – was handed over Sunday to organizers of next year’s games.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes spent 15 minutes defending the course, built in the wealthy neighbourhood of Barra da Tijuca, where most Olympic venues will be located.

“If you are in politics, you always have to spend some time defending your point of view,” Paes said.

Paes spoke to several hundred guests and repeatedly thanked billionaire developer Pasquale Mauro, who stood alongside him. The developer is spending about 60 million Brazilian reals ($16.2 million) to build the course. He is also constructing luxury marble and glass high-rise apartments around the layout, which was created from a nature reserve.

The course is to remain public for at least 20 years, joining two private clubs in Rio.

The course took three years to build, and the stops and starts removed some of the glamor from golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence.

Construction started six months late. American golf architect Gil Hanse, who won the Olympic bid ahead of bigger names like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, complained early in the project he wasn’t getting paid by the developer and hinted at pulling out.

Lawsuits by environmentalists also slowed development, and there were several legal disputes about who owns the property, some of the most expensive land in the western Rio suburb.

Paes, who is mentioned as a possible candidate for Brazilian president, denied Sunday several reports that Mauro had donated to his political campaigns.

“No, not at all,” Paes said when asked by The Associated Press. “But it was not a problem if he had.”

Paes insisted Sunday that, although some of the nature reserve was bulldozed to shape the course’s grass mounds, the lion’s share was degraded land that had been a sand quarry.

“I think during the Olympic games there’s always going to be lots of controversy,” Paes said. “But people finally understood that this is a great environmental legacy, that this is a great golf course.”

The legacy for the sport is unclear.

Few people play golf in Brazil, and Paes has acknowledged the game probably has little future in the South American country. Some have compared building a golf course in Brazil to setting up a bullring in Finland.

“In Brazil I don’t think there’s much legacy for a golf course,” Paes said. “I’ve always said that. I don’t think this is something Brazil is very famous for, delivering courses. It’s not a popular sport in Brazil. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics.”

Carlos Nuzman, the head of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, contradicted the mayor just minutes later.

“It’s a big legacy,” Nuzman said. “It’s a public golf course. There are a lot of young kids – boys and girls – who want to participate to develop golf. It’s a chance for golf in a new region of the world to be developed.”

The sure winner is probably the developer Mauro, who is building the course with private money. It follows the pattern of other Olympic projects in Rio, where large real estate interests have moved in. Another is the nearby Athletes Village – 3,600 high-end apartment units – that will be sold off after the games.

Brazil is spending about $10 billion to organize the games, a mix of public and private money, and is being buffeted by a deep recession with major cuts recently to the games’ organizing budget.

Alberto Murray Neto, a Sao Paulo lawyer and former member of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, said it was unclear why the city would press ahead with construction on legally disputed land. He and others have suggested that the Itanhanga Golf Club in Barra could have been remodeled for the Olympics, and at a lower cost.

“It seems that this is part of real estate speculation that will be favourable to the company that is building the luxury condominium just behind the Olympic course,” Murray said in an email to The Associated Press.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Kevin Kisner had a 6-under 64 in the RSM Classic to build a three-shot lead Saturday as he goes for his first win on the PGA Tour.

Already a runner-up four times this year – three in a playoff – Kisner has never had a chance this good. He birdied his last three holes on the Seaside course to build some separation over Kevin Chappell and Graeme McDowell.

Kisner was at 16-under 196.

Chappell overcame a rough start for a 68. McDowell (65) survived a mental blunder. On the first fairway, he lifted his ball to clean when he realized for the first time this week the conditions no longer were lift, clean and place. The one-shot penalty gave him par instead of a birdie. He was four back.

Canada’s David Hearn is tied for 7th at 9 under after a third-round 67.

NAPLES, Fla. – Cristie Kerr and Ha Na Jang shared the lead going into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, and Lydia Ko remained in control of the biggest year-end awards and a $1 million bonus.

Kerr shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to match Jang at 13 under at Tiburon Golf Club. Jang had a 69.

Ko and Gerina Piller were tied for third at 11 under. Ko had a 69, and Piller shot 67.

Ko is trying to take the $1 million Race to the CME Globe bonus for the second consecutive year. A win also would lock up the world No. 1 ranking to end the year, along with player of the year honours and the money title.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson sits T29 at 3-under, while fellow Canadian Alena Sharp is at even par in a tie for 43rd.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy shot the best round of the day to move within one shot of leader Andy Sullivan after the third round of the World Tour Championship on Saturday, which also puts him closer to the Race to Dubai title.

McIlroy shot a 7-under 65 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to make up three shots on Sullivan (68) and go four strokes clear of Danny Willett, his closest challenger for the season-long Race to Dubai crown. Willett looked set to be even further back but made two birdies and an eagle on his last five holes for a 67.

Sullivan made two birdies on his last four to maintain the lead with a 16-under total of 200.

Despite making eight birdies in the swirling wind, McIlroy was left ruing some the chances he missed.

“I guess you can’t really walk off this golf course, especially in these conditions, and shoot 7-under and not feel good about yourself. But at the same time, I feel like it could have been a lot better,” McIlroy said. “The good thing is, there’s still one round of golf left. If it had been the final day, I’d be kicking myself with some of the chances I missed. I am playing lovely, so bodes well for tomorrow.”

American Patrick Reed shot a 68 that gave him sole possession of third place, two shots behind McIlroy, while South Korea’s Byeong-hun An (66) and Emiliano Grillo (71) of Argentina were tied for fourth at 204.

Sullivan was 2 under after seven holes, but a string of pars left him slightly frustrated before the two late birdies. He made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, and then saved par from a similar distance on the 18th.

“Felt like the putter really saved me the last few holes,” he said. “The way I played, I was quite happy with the 68, really.”

Justin Rose, who was third in the Race to Dubai at the start of the week and needed to win the tournament to become the European No. 1 for the second time in his career, shot a 78 and slipped out of contention.

Four more Canucks have advanced to the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School on Friday, playing at two locations in the U.S.

Lucas Kim was the low scorer for the Canadians, carding 11-under thru 72 holes to finish alone in third place at the Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club in Plantation, Fla. Just sneaking inside the cut line was Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., who posted a 3-under score to finish T20.

In California, Calgary’s Ryan Yip finished at 8-under (69-69-70-72) to finish in a tie for fifth. Not far behind was Matt McQuillan of Kingston, Ont., who carded a total score of 5-under (69-71-70-73) to finish T15.

The foursome will join Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.), Chris Ross (Dundas, Ont.), Devin Carrey (Burnaby, B.C.) and Cam Burke (New Hamburg, Ont.) as the eight Canadians to advance from stage II to the final stage of Qualifying School from Dec. 10–13 at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad members Albin Choi (Toronto) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) had already punched their tickets to the final stage, along with Kevin Spooner (Vancouver), Eugene Wong (Vancouver), Wilson Bateman (Edmonton) and Justin Shin (Pitt Meadows, B.C.).

Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.)—also on the Young Pro Squad—earned status already by finishing inside the top-five on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada.

Similar to all events on the Web.com Tour schedule, the finals will be contested over 72 holes.

All players who make it to the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament will earn at least conditional status on Tour in 2016.

Click here for full scoring from 2015 Web.com Tour Q School.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Kevin Chappell holed a 45-yard bunker shot for eagle on his way to a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead in the RSM Classic at Sea Island.

Chappell was trying to make sure his bunker shot reached the back of the green for a chance at birdie. It worked out perfectly at the par-5 15th on the Seaside Course.

Chappell was at 11-under 131 and one shot ahead of Kevin Kisner, who had a 67 at Seaside, and Freddie Jacobson, who had a 5-under 67 on the Plantation Course.

Dru Love, the 21-year-old son of Davis Love III, made his PGA Tour debut a short one. The junior at Alabama was 3 under until playing the final seven holes in 7 over. He shot 76 and missed the cut.

Canada’s David Hearn was T13 at 6 under after a 72. Compatriots Adam Svensson and Austin Connelly failed to make the 36 hole cut.

NAPLES, Fla. – Everyone in the CME Group Tour Championship is playing for something.

Lydia Ko and Inbee Park are playing to win the LPGA’s biggest season-ending awards. There’s a group playing for a $1 million bonus. Some are playing to build momentum for 2016.

And then there’s Karine Icher. She’s playing for France.

Icher – the lone French player in the 71-woman field – shot a 5-under 67 on Friday in the second round of the LPGA’s season-finale, giving her a 36-hole total of 138 that has her within four shots of the lead. Icher has friends who knew some of the 130 people killed last week in Paris, when extremists attacked a concert hall, a soccer stadium and cafes and restaurants.

“France is in a difficult time right now,” Icher said. “All we can do is just think of them, pray for them and that’s it. It’s really sad, but unfortunately I think it’s only the beginning and it’s really scary. Especially for us, we travel all over the world and it can happen anywhere, any time. It’s just like being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you’re dead.”

South Korea’s Ha Na Jang shot 65 to get to 10-under 134 and hold the midpoint lead by two shots over world No. 1 Lydia Ko (67) of New Zealand. Americans Jennifer Song (69) and Cristie Kerr (69) were another shot off the pace, and Icher was in a group that also included Gerina Piller (70) and Brittany Lincicome (70) of the U.S. in a tie for fifth at 6 under.

“It’s a really good score, 65,” Jang said. “So I feel really good.”

Icher is from Chateauroux, about two hours south of Paris. She had visited some of the places that were targeted by the extremists, presumably members of the Islamic State group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Her husband was watching the France-Germany soccer match, which was taking place as the chaos began, on television.

Her friends and family, she said, are safe. Friends of friends were not so fortunate. And golf, she said, has been a needed sanctuary.

“When you’re on the golf course, you’re at work,” Icher said. “You try to forget everything else, you try to focus on your game and you’re 100 percent there.”

She’s 100 percent in the mix going into the weekend.

Jang leads the tournament, getting the top spot outright when Ko made double-bogey and bogey on consecutive holes late in her round. Still, Ko is in control of all the big year-end prizes that she’s chasing – like the LPGA’s scoring title, player of the year, a $1 million bonus for winning the “Race to CME Globe” and ensuring that she’ll finish the year with the No. 1 ranking.

“I still played pretty solidly,” Ko said. “So I’m happy.”

For Inbee Park, who’s battling Ko for all those big prizes, there was progress. Even after closing with a three-putt bogey and lamenting her lack of luck on Bermuda greens, she still shot 69 for her best score at Tiburon since 2013.

Ko has the edge going into the weekend in their head-to-head contest, but Friday may give Park reason for hope.

“I know she played well yesterday as well,” Park said. “She seems like she really likes this golf course. I’ve got to start liking it a little bit more for tomorrow.”

Jang shot the round of the day, with eight birdies and one bogey. Minjee Lee shot 66 and Icher had one of four 67s, along with Ko, Japan’s Ai Miyazato and Danielle Kang of the U.S.

Icher isn’t planning to return to France anytime soon. It’s not because of the attacks, but simply that she and her family spend the offseason at their Orlando, Florida, home.

Still, it’s clear what a win would mean this week.

“It would be nice,” Icher said, “just for France.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy achieved separation from main rival Danny Willett by two shots in the second round of the European Tour season finale on Friday.

McIlroy, bidding to top the tour for the third time in four years, carded consecutive 68s to be at 8-under-par 136, four off Andy Sullivan’s lead in the World Tour Championship.

On a day when most players went low, McIlroy could only match his opening round, including five birdies, and one bogey on the par-3 6th. He birdied only one of the four par 5s at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“Two solid rounds of golf so far,” McIlroy said. “I felt like yesterday it could have been a lot better. And today, I felt like I hit the ball a little better. It wasn’t quite as scrappy.

“I don’t think I’ve taken advantage of the par 5s quite the way I would have liked to, but if I can do that over the next couple of days, and keep giving myself plenty of chances, I should be close on Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Willett, tied with McIlroy in the first round, shot a 2-under 70. The Englishman started well with birdies on Nos. 2-3, but bogeyed No. 5, and No. 16 immediately after a birdie on 15. He needed to hole a 15-footer for par on the last and keep his hopes alive.

Sullivan shot a second straight 66 to be at 12-under 132 for a one-shot lead over the equally in-form Emiliano Grillo, who posted the low round of the day, a bogey-free 8-under 64.

Sullivan has won three European Tour events this season – South African Open, Joburg Open, Portugal Masters – and was being cheered on here by 30 friends and relatives who have travelled from his hometown of Nuneaton, England.

He treated them to some stunning putts; a 50-footer for birdie on the 12th, one from nearly 30 feet on the 14th, and a 40-fooer from behind the 18th green.

“The putter just seemed to get crazy hot from the one on the 12th hole, and everything I looked at, pretty much went in,” Sullivan said. “It’s a nice feeling.”

Grillo started and finished with birdies to reach 11 under overall. He hasn’t won on the Euorpean Tour, but won the Frys.com Open, the first tournament of the new U.S. PGA Tour season last month, two weeks after he secured his card by winning the Web.com Tour Championship.

Two behind the Argentine was American Patrick Reed, who birdied five of his last six holes to close with a 65.

Reed was one shot ahead of McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel (65), and Thongchai Jaidee (67).

Two-time defending champion Henrik Stenson closed with a 69 to be 2 over for the tournament. At one stage, after six holes, the Swede was 9 over before making seven birdies in his last 12 holes.

NAPLES, Fla. – Purses on the LPGA Tour will rise by $4 million in 2016, and officials are aiming for a second event in China.

The tour released next year’s schedule on Friday, with 33 events – two of which will be in Canada. Purse money will rise from $59.1 million to $63.1 million, a tournament has been added in Michigan and the LPGA will take a three-week break to accommodate the return of golf to the Olympics in August.

“Stability with growth,” LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. “We’ve had some dramatic things we needed to address in the last six years … and the numbers, I think, kind of speak for themselves.”

In 2011, the LPGA had 23 official events and $40.5 million in purse money with 220 hours of television coverage. The TV hours will increase again to about 410 next year. The LPGA also announced Friday a partnership with the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin for a tournament that will start in 2017 and offer a $2 million purse.

“It’s an exciting time,” Whan said.

The 2016 schedule starts with five tournaments in five different countries, matching the layout of the past two years. The season begins in the Bahamas in late January, and the first event in the U.S. is the Coates Golf Championship at Ocala, Florida. It ends Saturday, Feb. 6, and won’t conflict with Super Bowl 50 the next day in Santa Clara, California.

The five majors are the ANA Inspiration ending April 3, the Women’s PGA Championship ending June 12, the U.S. Women’s Open ending July 10, the Women’s British Open ending July 31, and The Evian Championship ending Sept. 18. The Olympic field will be set the day after the Women’s Open, meaning a chance exists that the British Open champion might not be Rio-bound.

“The Olympics is making 2016 a little more crowded than a typical LPGA schedule in the middle of the summer,” Whan said. “But it’s a great problem to have when you have to get condensed because you’re about to play in the Olympics for the first time in 100 years.”

Golf Canada’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will be held Aug. 22-28  in Calgary, with a $2.25 M purse.  The other Canadian event – the Manulife LPGA Classic – will be held the following week from Aug. 29-Sept. 4 in Cambridge, Ont. with a $1.6 M purse.

China was expected to host two events in 2015, though one was canceled about two weeks before the start. The LPGA plans to return for an event that ends Oct. 2. Whan said he’s confident the second tournament – which is still listed as TBD on the schedule – will come together as planned.

Other nations on the 2016 schedule besides Canada and the U.S. include: Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.

Next season ends again at the CME Group Tour Championship on Nov. 20 in Naples, Florida.

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