An emotional Rory McIlroy put a year of near misses and personal troubles behind him to win the DP World Tour Championship and his sixth Race to Dubai with a gritty final performance in Dubai.
The Co Down man went into the final round tied for the lead with Antoine Rozner and Rasmus Hojgaard on 12-under and while he looked to be cruising to victory after he followed a bogey at the first with four birdies in a row from the second to surge two clear.
He stalled mid-round before getting the job done down the stretch “I’ve been through a lot this year, professionally, personally and it feels like the fitting end to 2024,” McIlroy said after he birdied the 16th and 18th to win by two shots from Hojgaard on 15 under and match Seve Ballesteros with six Harry Vardon Trophy wins as his Holywood clubman Tom McKibbin claimed him PGA TOUR card with his tenth top-10 of the season.
“I’ve persevered this year; I’ve had a lot of close calls, wasn’t able to get it done. So to be able to get over the line, I got off to a great start, and then I didn’t have my best around the middle of the round.
“I think Rasmus and I both sort of struggled to get any momentum, but I thought saving par on 15 was huge. And then I made four great swings coming in the wedge on 16, the shot into 17, and then the two shots in the last so really pleased with the way I finished. And, you know, thankfully, I hung on on a tough day and got the job done.”
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After dropping shots at the ninth and 13th to find himself tied with his Amgen Irish Open nemesis Hojgaard on 13-under, he failed to birdie the par-five 14th with an iron in hand but saved a crucial par from 15 feet at the 15th, then hit a wedge stone dead at the 16th (the sixth wedge shot from the 100-144 yard range he hit inside four feet this week) to regain the lead.
He then ripped a mid iron to eight feet at the 17th, heaping the pressure on Hojgaard, who missed the green.
The Dane did not give up easily, however, making a 22 footer for par after a weak chip before McIlroy failed to convert his birdie putt.
Still leading by just one stroke playing the last, McIlroy hit a low ‘stinger’ drive and after Hojgaard missed the green long, found the light rough right of the green.
The Dane chipped to 19 feet but after McIlroy putted down to seven feet, he watched his putt miss on the high side.
McIlroy duly rolled in his birdie putt for birdie, a 69, his third DP World Tour Championship trophy and his sixth Race to Dubai title.
He was emotional as he matched Ballesteros with six Race to Dubai titles ater a year that saw him blow the US Open with three bogeys in his last four holes and file for divorce from his wife Erica Stoll before they reconciled later in the summer.
Holding back tears, he said: “It’s really cool. I think everyone knows what Seve means to European golf, to Ryder Cup players.
“You know, in the European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are quotes of Seve. We have a changing room with Seve’s shirt from ’95, the last Ryder Cup he played.
“He means so much to European golf, and for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I’m very proud.”
He’s now set his sights on catching Colin Montgomerie, who won the Order of Merit an incredbile eight times.
“I’ve just won my third in a row, and I’ve really made it a priority of my schedule over the last few years to give myself the best chance coming into the end of the year to win the Race to Dubai, and I don’t see that being any different for the foreseeable future,’ he said.
“So you know, going to go for my seventh next year and try to chase Monty down.”
Looking forward to celebrating, he added: “It’s been a long year. It’s my 27th tournament, which is a lot for me. Looking forward to a little bit of down time. I’ve got a lot of friends and my family here in Dubai, so I’m sure we’ll have a good night tonight.”
It was also a great week for Shane Lowry, who went into the final round five shots behind the trio of leaders but closed with a four under 68, chipping in from an awkward place on the 17th green for a two before getting up and down from 139 yards for a closing birdie four to tie for third with Rozner on 11-under It turned out to be four shots too many in the end but after a year when he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with McIlroy in April, it was an ultra consistent campaign for the Offaly man, who completed his campaign with eight successive top 13 finishes.
As for McKibbin, who was bidding for one of ten PGA TOUR cards, the Newtownabbey native (21) got the job done with a gutsy birdie at the 18th, He was tied for seventh overnight, four shots behind the leaders, and projected ninth in the battle for those 10 PGA Tour cards.
He started with six straight pars but he could never quite get the momentum he needed to ease the pressure.
After a birdie at the seventh, he overshot the eighth and made bogey, then followed a birdie at the 14th with back to back bogeys at the 15th and 16th to find himself 11th in the standings, just 3.0 Race to Dubai points behind Jordan Smith, He needed a birdie at the last to move back into 10th and after hitting a 232-yard fairway wood to 30 feet at the 18th, he calmly two putted for birdie and a 72 that left him tied for 11th and secured his PGA TOUR card by just 10.5 Race to Dubai points
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