Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championship for the third time and claimed his sixth Race to Dubai title on Sunday, matching the tally of legendary Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman made a crucial birdie on the par-4 16th hole to break the deadlock with Dane Rasmus Hojgaard.
He then birdied the par-5 18th hole for a three-under-par 69 that took him to 15-under par for the four days and was enough for a two-shot victory that also secured him a sixth order merit.
The four-time major champion broke down on live television when asked what equaling Ballesteros’ record meant.
“It’s really cool. I think everyone knows what Seve means to European golf. In the European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are Seve quotes,” McIlroy said, who is now two behind all-time record holder Colin Montgomerie. eight.
“We had a Seve jersey from 1995 when he played his last Ryder Cup in our locker room last year… To be mentioned in the same breath as Seve, I’m very proud.”
Rasmus, trying to follow in the footsteps of his twin brother Nicolai and bring the trophy back to Denmark for the second year in a row, made a stunning 22-foot par save on the 17th hole, but couldn’t put the pressure on. McIlroy on the 18th when he settled for a par and a final score of 71.
McIlroy, who opened with a bogey then made four successive birdies, dropped a few shots on the turn to be tied with Hojgaard after 15 holes at 13 under.
He finally took the lead with a superb second shot on the 137-yard par-4 16th hole to within a foot for his fifth birdie of the day and drained a six-footer on the final hole.
– “By the end of 2024” –
“I think I would have been unhappy for a few weeks if I hadn’t won today. I’ve been through a lot this year, professionally and personally. This seems like the perfect end to 2024. I have a lot persevered. I had some close calls. I didn’t make it.
“So to be able to cross the finish line, when I had a good start and didn’t do my best in the middle of the round, was very satisfying. I felt a lot of pressure there, most of it self-inflicted but to finish like I did, I can now go off and take a good few weeks off,” McIlroy added.
Including the Zurich Classic won by the world number three alongside Shane Lowry, this was McIlroy’s fourth world victory of the season.
Hojgaard was disappointed not to win the title, but happy to have landed the No. 1 card of 10 PGA Tour cards offered this weekend for the top 10 players who are not already members. Card #1 gives him access to some of the big events, including the Players Championship.
“I came to Abu Dhabi (the week before) with the goal of getting the No. 1 card on the PGA Tour, and I’m happy I did it,” said Hojgaard, who missed the card by a place last year.
“It sucks to lose, but you have to make birdies at the end and Rory did that. I fought hard all day.”
Australia’s Adam Scott and Ireland’s Lowry shot 68s in the final round to tie for third place at 11 under par alongside France’s Antoine Rozner. Englishman Tyrrell Hatton finished 6th solo at 10 under.
The 10 players who obtained their PGA Tour card are Hojgaard, Thriston Lawrence of South Africa, Englishman Paul Waring, Dane Niklas Norgaard, Swede Jesper Svensson, Frenchman Antoine Rozner, Italian Matteo Manassero, Thorbjorn Olesen from Denmark, Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino and Tom McKibbin. of Northern Ireland.
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