McIlroy joined Colin Montgomerie atop the all-time list of winners of the previously named "Order of Merit" award, adding another significant achievement to the resume of a player who has done pretty much everything in golf — notably the career Grand Slam.
Hatton shot 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the season-ending event by five strokes on 15-under par, but the main focus was on the tense fight for the year-long points title between McIlroy and young Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who arrived in Dubai atop the standings just ahead of the Northern Irishman.
In a turbulent final round in which Chacarra played one group behind McIlroy, the pair regularly exchanged places in the top two spots of the projected standings. McIlroy won out, shooting a bogey-free 67 that ultimately left him in outright second place.
Chacarra needed to eagle the par-5 18th — or get some unlikely help from a couple of players finishing their rounds after him — but neither scenario transpired. He shot 69 and tied for third, dropping him to second place in the Race to Dubai standings by the small matter of around 125 points.
McIlroy has now won the season-long title for the last five years, as well as in 2012, '14 and '15, and he was congratulated by Chacarra outside the scorer's hut.
"Deserved winner," Chacarra said, before McIlroy made a video call to his family — "stress, stress, stress," he was heard saying — and then gave an emotional TV interview in which he dedicated the title to his father, Gerry, who has been in hospital for the last two months.
"He's been in the hospital for the last two months. He underwent a huge operation at the end of September and is recovering well, thankfully," McIlroy said.
"When I left to come here to the Middle East, I went up to Cleveland to see him before I went and he said to me, 'Go win the Race to Dubai'. This one is for him."
Back-to-back Masters champion McIlroy also spoke of his pride at equalling Montgomerie's record.
"Winning eight Order of Merits was never really in my list of goals when I was growing up," the Northern Irishman said in an interview with the DP World Tour.
"I remember Monty being obviously a stalwart of the European Tour, going to watch him at the World Match Play at Wentworth over the years and remember playing with him for the first time, so to pull up alongside him and to win any of these things, it means the world to me.
"I am a very proud European, a proud European player. I am proud to be a part of the DP World Tour, and I am very proud of myself right now."
Chacarra said he was proud of the way he took the fight to McIlroy on his first appearance at the World Tour Championship and in his first full season on the European tour.
"I just came (up) short," the 26-year-old Chacarra said. "That's the beauty of golf.
"Obviously, when you play with the best in the world ... he's played here 14, 15 times, you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did."
Australian great Adam Scott, who had fired himself into contention in Dubai by shooting a flawless 67 joint-fourth on Saturday, had to settle for a share of 16th place after a final round 73.
