The Punter's De-Brief: Rahm secures a hattrick of wins in Dubai

• Rahm comfortably converts from the front

• Rory lands Race to Dubai prize

• Svensson off the mark on the PGA Tour

In 13 previous editions of the DP World Tour Championship, every winner had begun the tournament with a three-under-par 69 or better and all bar one victor had been inside the top-seven places after round one, so Jon Rahm looked up against it after shooting 70 on Thursday to sit tied for 14th.

Having been a well-backed second favourite before the off, shortening up from 7.613/2 to around 6.25/1 behind the 5.59/2 favourite, Rory McIlroy, Rahm drifted all the way out to 13.525/2 but he was firmly back in the picture by halfway following a six-under-par 66 which saw him sit tied for fifth and trailing by four.

Having opened the event with matching 65s, the first-round leaders, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, led the field by three at halfway after both men shot 67 on Friday and they dominated the market.

Fitzpatrick hit a low of 2.1211/10 and after he'd began round three in fine style, Hatton was matched at just 2.3211/8 but Tyrrell's wheels fell off on the back-nine as Rahm cruised through to take up the running with a sensational bogey-free seven-under-par 65.

Leading by a stroke and trading at 2.427/5, Rahm was very much the man to beat with a round to go and once he'd birdied the first three holes on Sunday, the rest were in trouble.

Tyrrell put in an early charge again and Alex Noren was matched at a low of 4.3100/30 but Fitzpatrick never really got going in round four and the pre-tournament favourite, Rory McIlroy, who had drifted right out to 110.0109/1 on Friday before being matched at 3.211/5 on Saturday, was always up against it after he followed birdies at one and two with a bogey at three on Sunday.

Hatton and Noren kept the pressure on but the result never looked in doubt after this lengthy birdie putt on the par three 13th.

.@JonRahmpga extends his advantage once again.

He leads by two with five holes left.#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/mmhxGt5iBv

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 20, 2022

Rahm went on to win by two over Hatton and Noren with McIlroy picking up the season-long Race to Dubai prize courtesy of his solo fourth.

The Greg Norman designed Earth Course is a truly great test. Year after year the cream rises to the top and the last 11 editions have been won by a major champion.

This was Rahm's fourth appearance in the event, and it was his third victory. He's the only man to take the title three times but Rory, Fitzpatrick and Henrik Stenson have all won the tournament twice so course form clearly stands up well.

Outsiders don't tend to have a look in and Adrian Meronk, who finished tied for seventh, was the only player trading at more than 50.049/1 before the off to finish inside the top-eight.

Forget the longshots here and focus on the leaders after round three. Rahm is the 10th winner in 14 years to be leading or tied for the lead with a round to go.

Svensson hits 1000 in PGA win

Over on the PGA Tour, Canada's Adam Svensson was nicely backed before the off from a shade over 200.0199/1 down to 160.0159/1, but he looked a lost cause after a three-over-par 73 around the Seaside Course on Thursday left him sitting tied for 108th.

Svensson looked long odds-on to miss the cut after a slow start around the Plantation Course on Friday and it's no surprise to see he was matched at 1000.0999/1 given he was still over par for the tournament after turning for home in one-under-par, but he got his skates on - on the back-nine, coming home in 30 to climb to tied 43rd at halfway.

Svenson shot a sensational eight-under-par 62 on Saturday - the best round of the day by two strokes - to move up into a tie for third and trailing the joint leaders, Patrick Rodgers, and Ben Martin, by a stroke, he was trading at 14.527/2 on Sunday morning.

Svenson went odds-on after back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 saw him hit the front but the drama was far from over.

England's Callum Tarren drew alongside Svensson at the top of the leaderboard with a birdie at the 18th and when Svensson failed to birdie the par five 15th, we looked like getting the fourth playoff in five years.

Tarren, a pre-event 280.0279/1 chance, was matched at a low of 2.486/4 as he sat in the clubhouse but he wasn't the only man to post a 17-under-par total.

The pre-event favourite, Brian Harman, eagled the 15th and birdied 16 to get to that number and he was matched at a low of 2.3211/8, while 50.049/1 chance, Sahith Theegala, hit a low of 3.02/1 when he birdied the 15th and 17th to get to -17. We had four men tied at the top and extra time looked a distinct possibility.

Having failed to birdie the easy 15th, Svensson had his work cut out to get in the house alongside Tarren, Harman and Theegala, and it was anyone's guess who might lift the trophy but the 28-year-old Canadian responded brilliantly with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 to win by two.

Although an outsider before the off, Svensson ticked a lot of boxes and in many ways he was an archetypical RSM Classic winner.

Playing in his 70th event and having been on Tour for three years, Svensson is the eighth player in 11 years to break his duck on the PGA Tour at the RSM Classic.

With current form figures reading 69-59-MC-39, he would have come into the event with the low expectations that are typical of winners here, but he had bits and bobs of form at the right tracks.

Although sixth at the Barbasol Championship in July was his best finish on Tour before this week, his top-tens at the Sony Open and the Honda Classic at the start of the year were far stronger pointer for this event and I'm not surprised to see there was money for him before the off.

Up from 174th to 72nd in the World Rankings it's debatable where the winner goes from here but we probably shouldn't expect a rash of victories.

This was the seventh time he'd been inside the top-ten places with a round to go but it was the first time he'd improved his place on a Sunday and that may well have something to do with his tactics.

He got the job done impressively enough yesterday but just concentrating on avoiding bogeys, Svensson didn't look at a leaderboard until the 16th hole so we can dismiss any thoughts of him being some sort of ruthless closer.

The PGA Tour takes a break this week, but the DP World Tour kicks off the new season with two events - the Joburg Open and the Australian PGA Championship so it's still a busy week.

I'll be back tomorrow with the Joburg Open preview and Matt Cooper is going to look at the action Down under.

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