Five-time major winner Rory McIlroy’s legacy in the annals of European golf was secured long ago. But a historic 2025 campaign but an exclamation point on the career of one of the greatest players in history. Now the DP World Tour is introducing a new annual award to honor McIlroy’s achievements.
McIlroy spoke at length about the new Rory McIlroy Award before the date 2025 PD World Tour Championshipexplaining the importance of the prize, its origins and why he can never win it.
What is the Rory McIlroy Award?
When McIlroy finally won his first green jacket at the 2025 Masters in April, he didn’t just fulfill a lifelong dream of winning at Augusta. He also became the sixth greatest golfer in history complete the Grand Slam career — winning all four of golf’s major championships.
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But McIlroy is the first European golfer to achieve this rare feat. And it is this fact that led to the new price.
Earlier on Tuesday, the DP World Tour announced the creation of the Rory McIlroy Award “in honor of Europe’s first Career Grand Slam winner.”
Each year starting in 2026, the award will be given to the best performing DP World Tour player in major championships. This will be determined based on the Race to Dubai points earned in the degrees.
In a press release announcing the new award, McIlroy called the honor “humbling.”
“To have something with your name on it that will be presented to future generations of players is a great honor and very humbling,” McIlroy wrote. “I am extremely proud to be the first European to achieve the Career Grand Slam. The Majors represent the pinnacle of our sport and I hope my success can inspire other members of the DP World Tour to pursue and achieve their dreams for years to come.”
He continued: “I can’t wait to see who will become the first recipient of this new award in 2026 and it will be another very proud moment for me personally to present the trophy to them.”
DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings explained why they believed the time was right to honor McIlroy, despite the fact that he is still in the prime of his career.
“While Rory will no doubt go on to achieve many other great things throughout his career, as a tour we wanted to commemorate his historic achievement this year by becoming the first European Career Grand Slam winner,” Kinnings wrote. “This new award will be a lasting legacy that we hope will inspire future generations of DP World Tour members to follow in Rory’s footsteps on golf’s biggest stage.”
The Origins of the McIlroy Award (and Why Rory May Never Win It)
After the award was announced, McIlroy joined reporters for his pre-tournament press conference at the DP World Tour Championship. And the new price was the first topic to be opened.
McIlroy revealed that he first heard about the award shortly after his Masters victory in April. When Kinnings approached him with the idea, McIlroy initially thought it was too early in his career to name an award after him.
“When Guy approached us about it after the Masters, my first instinct was that it was a little too soon, a little too early,” McIlroy explained. “And the more I thought about it, I’m not going to be playing forever.”
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He continued: “So it will still be amazing to have my name, after my playing days, associated with this tournament, and hopefully we have an award with my name on it, which means something to future generations that they want to strive for.”
There’s another crucial detail about the Rory McIlroy Award that you should know: Rory McIlroy can’t win it.
On Tuesday, McIlroy admitted that while it “would be nice” to win his prize, he decided it was better if he didn’t qualify.
“It would be nice, but I’m not fit for it,” McIlroy revealed. “I thought it would be better if I wasn’t… I think it was a decision made by all of us. We thought it was better if I wasn’t a good fit for him.”
According to the press release, the award will honor players “who seek to replicate (McIlroy’s) accomplishments in golf’s four major individual tournaments.”
With his new prize out of the way, McIlroy now turns his focus back to the task at hand. He is the betting favorite at this week’s end-of-season DP World Tour Championshipwhere he is seeking his seventh Dubai Race title.
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