The story of Rory McIlroy in 2023

By Mathieu Wood

It is testament to Rory McIlroy’s continued pursuit of success at the top of the game that his immediate focus after landing his fifth Harry Vardon Trophy last month was to stress just how much more he still wants to achieve.

"I've still got a little bit left in the tank," he said after the DP World Tour Championship, having wrapped up the 2023 Race to Dubai with a week to spare.

"I think I've still got a good eight to ten years left in me where I can play at the top, top level."

Who would argue with him?

His consistency is the bedrock of his career. That statement is no more accurate than over the past 12 months, when the Northern Irishman stood out from the crowd on the DP World Tour.

Across his 10 starts on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, McIlroy won twice – both times on the Rolex Series – and missed just one cut.

The 34-year-old is now third on the all-time list for season-long rankings titles, just one short of the late, great Seve Ballesteros and three behind the record of Colin Montgomerie.

Across the Atlantic, it was a case of more of the same as he posted a remarkable 13 top-10 finishes in 18 events as he finished fourth on the FedEx Cup standings.

Sceptics will say his wait for a fifth Major Championship goes on. While that is true, his runner-up finish at the US Open in June demonstrated he is right there.

At the conclusion of The Open Championship in July at Royal Liverpool – scene of his most recent Major triumph – McIlroy had amassed 20 top-10 finishes at golf’s biggest events. Impressive to say the least, particularly when you consider the strength and depth in the game.

But it is arguably his performance at the Ryder Cup as he spearheaded Europe’s Italian job at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club that will give him the most encouragement as he looks ahead to the new year.

In the heat of Rome on a hilly course, McIlroy was at his best, registering four wins from his five matches. It was a far cry from the crushing disappointment he felt after Europe’s defeat to the United States two years earlier at Whistling Straits.

Here, we take a look back at McIlroy's story in 2023.

Maiden Rolex Series win

After a memorable 2022 in which he topped both the Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup standings, expectations were high as McIlroy arrived at Emirates Golf Club for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as the World Number One.

At the scene of his maiden DP World Tour victory, he showed immense resolve to hold off the challenge of Patrick Reed to win his maiden Rolex Series title with a birdie-birdie finish.

"I feel like I showed a lot of mental strength out there today, something to really build on for the rest of the year," McIlroy reflected. "There's been a ton of positives this week but also been some things that I need to learn from and I need to try to improve on.

He then switched his focus to the PGA TOUR, finishing in a tie for second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill before he missed the cut at The PLAYERS Championship.

But a third-place finish in the final edition of the WGC – DELL Technologies Match Play provided optimism as he headed into the Major season.

One shy of Major triumph in Hollywood

During McIlroy’s career he has had to bounce back from setbacks, and he faced his latest with a missed cut at The Masters – a performance he later described as “incredibly disappointing”.

After taking three weeks away, he returned to competitive action at the Wells Fargo Championship, before he enjoyed a return to form with a tie for seventh at the US PGA Championship.

In fact, that marked the start of a run of back-to-back top tens that ran through until the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship in August.

In mid-June, he fell just short of a fifth Major at the US Open as Wyndham Clark prevailed at LA Country Club.

“I’m getting closer,” said McIlroy. “The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it’s going to happen for me. When I do finally win this next major, it’s going to be really, really sweet. I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.”

Late rally breaks Scottish hearts as he wins again on the Rolex Series

Over the first six seasons since its inception in 2017, McIlroy had never won on the Rolex Series but by the conclusion of the Genesis Scottish Open had won two, back-to-back.

Like in Dubai at the start of the year, he produced a birdie-birdie finish in one of the most thrilling finishes on Tour in recent memory to deny home favourite Robert MacIntyre at The Renaissance Club.

His grandstand finish was set up with a missile two iron into the final green, a shot he described as among the best of his career.

A week later, he finished in a tie for sixth in The Open Championship at Hoylake as Brian Harman celebrated his maiden Major with a stunning six-shot victory.

On his return to the US, he recorded back-to-back top fives in the first two FedExCup Playoffs before battling with a back injury on his way to a tie for 11th in the Tour Championship at East Lake.

Europe regain Ryder Cup before more Race to Dubai success is confirmed

McIlroy was quickly back in action on European soil at the island of Ireland's national open.

A disappointing final round two-over-par 74 saw him finish in a tie for 16th, having been firmly in contention to land his second Irish Open title heading into the final round.

He then took his place alongside all 11 other playing members of the European Ryder Cup team at the BMW PGA Championship.

While he was unable to make it a hat-trick of Rolex Series titles, a closing 65 helped him charge through the field and finish as one of seven Team Europe players to finish in the top ten at Wentworth Club.

As a result, there was optimism within the ranks that Europe could regain the Ryder Cup trophy and that belief was backed up with a brilliant team display by the hosts.

McIlroy was arguably the heartbeat of the team, winning four of his five matches. His only defeat came alongside Matt Fitzpatrick in Saturday afternoon’s fourballs, with McIlroy responding with a 3&1 win against World Match Play champion Sam Burns to help Europe claim victory.

After more than a month-long break and assured of winning the Race to Dubai, he closed out his calendar year with a tie for 22nd at the DP World Tour Championship as he was able to reflect on finishing as the European Number One once again.