Cape Town - Danny Willett made a triumphant return to the winner's circle as Francesco Molinari was crowned Europe's No 1 on a dramatic final day of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai - the eighth and final Rolex Series event of 2018.

Englishman Willett made three birdies in his last five holes to get to 18 under par, two shots clear of fellow Englishman Matt Wallace - who did enough to take a share of the Bonus Pool, finishing in tenth place in the Race to Dubai Rankings - and reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed, who took second place in the season-long rankings.

Willett made his Major breakthrough in April 2016 with victory in the Masters tournament but when he arrived this week at Jumeirah Golf Estates that remained his last title after battling with injury and loss of form.

He missed five of his first seven cuts this season but a tie for eighth at the Italian Open ignited his campaign and two more Rolex Series top tens followed before he claimed European Tour title No 6 on the Earth Course with a final round 68.

After a stellar season that included a first Major title at the Open, a Rolex Series victory at the BMW PGA Championship, and a record-breaking five points from five at the Ryder Cup, Molinari entered the week knowing that only a win for closest rival and great friend Tommy Fleetwood could deny him the Race to Dubai title.

Despite finishing 12 shots off the lead, Fleetwood's tie for 16th meant that Italy had its first European No 1. 

Defending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai champion Jon Rahm finished in a tie for fourth place at 14-under par alongside fellow Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and Dean Burmester of South Africa.

Englishman Tom Lewis and Dylan Frittelli of South Africa were a shot further back, with another Masters winner in Sergio Garcia at 12 under par alongside two-time Rolex Series winner Alex Noren and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Meanwhile, India's Shubhankar Sharma was confirmed as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, after a debut season that included two European Tour titles.

Final scores

270 D Willett (Eng) 67 67 68 68, 

272 P Reed (USA) 69 66 67 70, M Wallace (Eng) 68 65 71 68, 

274 A Otaegui (Esp) 66 68 71 69, D Burmester (RSA) 71 65 68 70, J Rahm (Esp) 67 70 69 68, 

275 D Frittelli (RSA) 70 73 66 66, T Lewis (Eng) 69 69 67 70, 

276 S Garcia (Esp) 71 68 67 70, A Noren (Swe) 69 71 67 69, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 70 66 71 69, 

277 T Pieters (Bel) 68 70 72 67, H Stenson (Swe) 71 66 69 71, J Smith (Eng) 66 68 69 74, A Björk (Swe) 72 65 70 70, 

278 X Schauffele (USA) 71 71 70 66, T Fleetwood (Eng) 69 67 74 68, 

279 R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 69 69 71 70, M Southgate (Eng) 71 69 72 67, 

280 R McIlroy (Nir) 69 67 71 73, L Westwood (Eng) 70 69 65 76, 

281 A Pavan (Ita) 69 69 70 73, T Hatton (Eng) 71 72 65 73, M Kinhult (Swe) 69 71 70 71, J Luiten (Ned) 69 73 70 69, 

282 F Molinari (Ita) 68 73 70 71, E Van Rooyen (RSA) 71 71 69 71, A Sullivan (Eng) 72 67 69 74, 

283 T Detry (Bel) 70 70 69 74, 

284 S Lowry (Irl) 70 72 69 73, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 72 74 68, H Li (Chn) 68 73 69 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 69 72 68 75, 

285 C Paisley (Eng) 71 71 69 74, H Tanihara (Jpn) 69 71 72 73, B Grace (RSA) 71 75 69 70, A Levy (Fra) 72 72 72 69, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 74 72 70 69, A Wu (Chn) 72 74 67 72, R Knox (Sco) 73 68 73 71, 

286 S Horsfield (Eng) 73 67 72 74, L Bjerregaard (Den) 76 71 66 73, S Sharma (Ind) 73 67 66 80, P Dunne (Irl) 72 69 75 70, 

287 T Olesen (Den) 71 73 72 71, R Fox (Nzl) 74 74 68 71, 

288 R Fisher (Eng) 68 73 72 75, 

289 A Rai (Eng) 73 75 69 72, 

290 L Herbert (Aus) 74 70 74 72, J Lagergren (Swe) 76 79 65 70, 

291 J Campillo (Esp) 74 74 74 69, L Slattery (Eng) 72 70 73 76, I Poulter (Eng) 72 74 76 69, R Rock (Eng) 71 73 75 72, 

292 D Fichardt (RSA) 74 71 73 74, M Kaymer (Ger) 72 75 74 71, 

293 B Stone (RSA) 74 76 72 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 69 74 69 81, 

298 C Wood (Eng) 73 76 73 76, 

** E Pepperell (Eng) 75 RT 0 0,