Rory McIlroy has made good practice of late talking his career moments into existence. At the start of 2025, McIlroy said there were three things he was most focused on achieving for the rest of his career:
– win the Masters
– win another Ryder Road Cup
– win an Olympic medal
Nine months later, this is controlcheck, maybe check in the future. But for those closest to the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, there’s another rung McIlroy is chasing.
It’s a much longer and quieter pursuit that most golf fans might miss, but believe me McIlroy doesn’t feel that way about it. He wants to be considered the greatest European player of all time, and if he isn’t there yet, he will be able to get even closer to that title this week in Dubai.
McIlroy leads the Race to Dubai with a week to go, and only Tyrrell Hatton and Marco Penge have a realistic chance of stopping him. Claiming the one-year title isn’t necessarily special for McIlroy, but it’s representative of something bigger. It would be his seventh career title at the Dubai Race, formerly known as the Order of Merit, and McIlroy is second for the career marks in the event. Colin Montgomerie is in first place with eight titles.
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Ryder Cup denial is headed by Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi
Kevin Cunningham
In the coming days, McIlroy will host a press conference from Jumeirah Golf Estates and will no doubt be asked about it. It would be his fourth straight title at the Dubai Race and his first since last year, when he tied Seve Ballesteros for six in total, which made McIlroy quite emotional.
“I just think what Seve would say to the game, to this tournament, to the European Ryder Cup team,” McIlroy said. “We sit in the dressing room at the Ryder Cup and the place is filled with Seve quotes, every wall you look at. We had a dressing room last year in Italy with the last jersey he ever wore when he played the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill in ’95.
“I think it was, and then combined with the fact that I’ve had so many close calls this year. I certainly haven’t made it easy on myself, out there on the back nine.
“I think just the combination of the Seve stuff plus finally getting over the line in what felt like a long time, I think the excitement of it all just hit me. Yeah, that’s why I had to compose myself.”
Only a few minutes later he began to wait impatiently.
“I’ve come this far, I can try to get eight or nine (titles),” McIlroy said. “Making it six and three in a row, and prioritizing The Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour and trying to achieve something that no one else in the game has achieved if I want to get past Monty.
“But I’ve got 10 years left, I think. Look, again, the other thing is, who knows what the golf world looks like in a few years. But as long as the Race to Dubai is going on and there’s an Order of Merit and we’re in this tournament, I’m going to want it, yeah.”
Fast forward 12 months and McIlroy has a better chance than ever to do it again, thanks in part to his Sunday 62, going T3 in Abu Dhabi. Tyrrell Hatton would have to win next week and hope McIlroy finishes outside the top eight. The only finish that guarantees Marco Penge first place would be the outright win. (And it would require McIlroy to finish outside of solo second.) Otherwise, Penge will need a top-three finish and pray that McIlroy doesn’t do what he usually does at Jumeirah Golf Estates: win. McIlroy won the year-end tournament in 2012, 2015 and 2024.
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