By Mathieu Wood
Rory McIlroy was left to reflect on an "incredibly meaningful day" as he brought his 2024 DP World Tour season to an emotional and doubly successful conclusion.
With victory at the DP World Tour Championship - for a record-equalling third time - he sealed a richly deserved sixth Race to Dubai title in emphatic fashion, finishing almost 3,000 points ahead of Rasmus Højgaard on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Across the campaign, during which he made 12 DP World Tour starts, McIlroy won twice on the Rolex Series, finished runner-up on four occasions, and recorded two further top five finishes.
Here, we look back at the key performances on his path to drawing level with Seve Ballesteros' haul of Harry Vardon trophies and moving two behind Colin Montgomerie’s record tally of eight.
McIlroy edged out by Fleetwood in season opener
McIlroy started his year by playing at the inaugural Dubai Invitational, a new 72-hole strokeplay tournament played concurrently with a three-day Pro-Am team event at Dubai Creek. The headline act in a 60-strong field of professionals, the Northern Irishman made his return to competitive action for the first time since he signed off 2023 as the Race to Dubai champion. He began his season as he meant to go on as a bogey-free 62 on the opening day earned him a two-shot lead. Despite a quadruple bogey seven at the par-three eighth in the second round, he retained his advantage at the halfway mark but trailed Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood by a shot with a round to play after a third-round 67. It provided for a fitting finale to the opening event of the year, with two of Europe’s most recognised and much-loved players doing battle. Fleetwood produced a birdie-birdie finish to claim a one-shot victory over McIlroy and fast-finishing Thriston Lawrence as the former found water off the tee at the last. The tied runner-up finish earned him 261 Race to Dubai points, and it wasn’t long before McIlroy was claiming silverware.
A record fourth Dubai Desert Classic win
While McIlroy was left with some regrets after falling just short in his first start of the year, he quickly made up for that disappointment a week later with a history-making success at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The Emirates Golf Club will forever hold a special place in his heart as it was the scene of his first DP World Tour victory in 2009, three years after his first start at the historic event as an amateur. But at the halfway stage, trailing by ten shots, it appeared unlikely that he would be able to win the title for a second year running. However, a stunning third-round 63 put him into the final group before he turned a two-shot deficit into a four-shot lead with six holes to play. And while a bogey on the 13th gave Adrian Meronk and Cameron Young hope, he held his nerve down the stretch to seal a one-shot win for his third Rolex Series win. He also becomes just the second player to successfully defend this title after Stephen Gallacher lifted the Dallah Trophy in 2013 and 2014. With the victory, he claimed 1,335 Race to Dubai points and made big headway in his bid to end the season as European Number One once again.
Heartache at U.S. Open
The career of an elite sportsmen is full of its highs and lows and McIlroy is no stranger to those experiences. At the U.S. Open in June, he looked set to end his near decade-long wait for a first Major win since 2014. But three bogeys over his last four holes saw him finish a shot behind home favourite Bryson DeChambeau, who got up and down from a bunker to seal a dramatic victory. McIlroy began the day three shots back of 54-hole leader DeChambeau but a brilliant stretch around the turn of four birdies across five holes gave him a two-shot lead with five holes to play. Such was the devastating nature of him missing out on an overdue fifth Major crown at Pinehurst, McIlroy admitted ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship that his failure to win the U.S. Open still “stings” months later. It was his second runner-up finish at the Major in as many years, but the result did further strengthen his command at the top of the Race to Dubai, earning him 1,113 ranking points.
Back-to-back runner-up finishes
After finishing tied ninth on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup standings, McIlroy returned to the DP World Tour for the Amgen Irish Open. Held at Royal County Down, a venue just an hour from where he grew up, he was roared on by huge crowds on home soil as he looked for a second title at the island of Ireland’s open. A three-under 69 in the third round saw him climb to the summit on a day when he was one of only four players to break 70. And he looked well placed to claim his first professional win on home soil when he led by two shots with four holes to play. But Højgaard, further ahead on the course, made four birdies – including two chip ins – in his final five holes to card a super 65 and set the target at nine under. McIlroy, who briefly held a four-shot lead earlier in the day, three-putted the 17th to fall behind. However, known for producing brilliance, McIlroy struck a towering approach from 191 yards at the par-five 18th to 15 feet of the pin, only for the eagle putt to slide just wide and ensure a fifth DP World Tour title for Hojgaard. McIlroy was again in contention a week later at the BMW PGA Championship, but it wasn’t until he holed a 46-foot eagle putt at the 71st hole that he reached the summit alongside Lawrence. He was unable to birdie the last which meant he was in a play-off alongside the South African and fellow past BMW PGA Championship winner Billy Horschel, who ended birdie-birdie in regulation play. After McIlroy and Horschel both made birdies to extend the play-off, it was the American who sank an eagle to secure his second Rolex Series win at Wentworth in in four years. Yet, despite further disappointment, McIlroy said he could leave the Surrey venue with his “head held high”. Those two finishes earned him 1,249.5 Race to Dubai points and further cemented his status as the best player on Tour.
Sealing the deal in Dubai
After finishing tied third at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the start of the DP World Tour Play-Offs, McIlroy made the short journey to Dubai knowing a sixth Race to Dubai title was in his grasp. Only Lawrence could deny him, and even then, he needed to finish 12th or worse on the leaderboard. But McIlroy was a man on mission over the Earth course as he sought a Dubai double to close out the season. He shared the lead after the first round and despite briefly losing the advantage at the halfway stage, he was in a three-way tie for the lead with a day to play. After bogeying the first, he reeled off four birdies in a row as he opened up a three-shot lead. But it was never going to be easy, and he was back level alongside Rasmus Højgaard when the World Number Three bogeyed the par three 13th. The European pair parred the next two holes, before McIlroy produced a brilliant approach to tap-in range at the 16th to regain the solo lead. Despite not being able to double his advantage at the 17th when he appeared set to do so when his Danish playing partner was out of position off the tee, he closed out his week and season in style with a birdie at the last to seal a two-shot victory for his second Rolex Series win of the campaign.
