The extremely likeable Northern Irishman birdied the final five holes to snatch victory from Justin Rose, who set the clubhouse target of 21-under par 267.

Incredibly, Rose set a course record on Sunday with a bogey-free round of 10-under par 62 at the luxurious Earth course of the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE. 

Rose took a narrow lead in the back nine and almost pulled off one of the most incredible shots I’ve ever seen when he missed a 70-foot putt by the slightest of margins.

In hindsight, even sinking that seemingly impossible effort wouldn’t have been enough to knock McIlroy off his perch.

Despite it being a foregone conclusion before the DP World Tour Championship, Sunday’s victory also confirmed McIlroy’s first place finish in the Race to Dubai European Money List standings – the 23-year-old has accrued $6.9 million of prize-money this year. Just in time for Christmas shopping!

Meanwhile, massive congratulations must go to Aussie teenager Jake Higginbottom, who on Sunday became the first amateur in 56 years to win the New Zealand Open!

TAHIR IN THE CLEAR AT WRONG END OF RECORDS

I don’t know whether to feel sorry for Imran Tahir or not.

The South African leg-spinner recorded the worst ever bowling figures during the Adelaide Test against the Aussies when his two-innings total read 0/260 off 37 overs.

Okay, so I feel a little sorry for the 33-year-old (after all, he did have Ed Cowan caught off a no ball) but I did laugh when Australian skipper Michael Clarke declared in the second innings immediately after Tahir had passed Khan Mohammad’s benchmark of 0/259, set back in 1958.

And that wasn’t the only good thing Clarke did over the past five days as the Aussies dominated the second Test match.

Clarke’s first innings score of 230 at the Adelaide Oval backed up his other superb double-century in Brisbane during the first Test.

With his recent run of sublime form, Clarke has confirmed his status as the best Test batsman in the world and he has also been mentioned regularly in the same breath as the great Sir Donald Bradman.

While Pup’s current stats stack up impressively well against the Don’s, I think we should wait until the end of his career before we make rock solid comparisons between the two.

That aside, Australia’s brilliant performance against South Africa over the past week has given the host nation loads of momentum ahead of the all-important third Test in Perth. 

ROMAN’S RUTHLESS AXE CUTS ROBERTO LOOSE

If you’re after a career that offers lots of job security, then don’t ever apply to be the coach of London club Chelsea FC.

Roberto Di Matteo last week became the eighth man since 2003 to be ruthlessly sacked by club owner Roman Abramovich, despite winning both the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League last season.

New Chelsea coach Rafa Benetiz is now in danger of losing his job after drawing his first match in charge against defending Premier League champion Manchester City.

Scientists this week predicted that by the year 2025, you will be no further than six feet away from an ex-Chelsea manager at any given time!