An openly emotional Rory McIlroy closed out the 2024 season in style with a record-equalling third victory on Sunday in the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“It means a lot,” the Northern Irishman said after carding a final-round 3-under-par 69 for a 15-under 273 total and two-shot victory over Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard. It was McIlroy’s 12th worldwide top-four finish of 2024 but just a fourth win in a campaign that included U.S. Open agony at Pinehurst and an excruciating near-miss in the Irish Open at Royal County Down plus the start of – and swift curtailing of – divorce proceedings with his wife, Erica.
“I’ve been through a lot this year professionally and personally,” he added after a pause to compose himself. “It feels like the fitting end to 2024. I’ve persevered. Had close calls where I wasn’t able to get it done. So, to be able to get over the line, I’m really pleased with the way I finished.”
The triumph also clinched a sixth DP World Tour Race to Dubai title, drawing him level in the record books with Europe’s legendary talisman – and his father’s hero – the late Severiano Ballesteros.
“It’s really cool,” McIlroy said. “Everyone knows what Seve means to European golf and to Ryder Cup players. In the European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are quotes from Seve.” McIlroy took another moment to steady his thoughts. “He means so much to European golf, and for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I’m very proud.”
“I would have been miserable for a few weeks if I had not won today. It would have just added to the list of ones that I felt I let get away. This was an incredibly meaningful day for me to get over the line to win my last event of the season.”
Rory McIlroy
Not for the first time in his career, the eventual winner made life hard for himself. A 5-under 67 on Thursday had given him a share of the first-round lead, and he was then 4-under through seven holes on Friday and clear of the chasers. Whereupon he hit a flat patch and closed the day one adrift of the halfway leader, France’s Antoine Rozner.
At the start of the final round, McIlroy, Højgaard and Rozner were tied for the lead, two shots clear of their closest challengers, and McIlroy’s pattern of leaving himself behind the 8-ball on either side of a spell of brilliance continued.
He opened with a clumsy bogey, immediately responded with four birdies in a row to open a three-shot lead, and then played the next 10 holes in 2-over to allow Højgaard to catch him at the top of the leaderboard.
The week had opened with further chatter about the recent work McIlroy has been doing on his swing, particularly on his lines and his wedges. The latter are, of course, the infuriating riddle at the heart of his game, which is that his great strength (long and accurate drives) only opens him up to his great weakness (approach shots played with wedges). He’s like an ultra-elite version of the good chipper who can’t putt.
But those short irons were what he has been sharpening, and they were what had impressed onlookers all week. On the par-4 16th, a 138-yard approach with his wedge to 18 inches ultimately made the difference between winning and another frustrating letdown. That par breaker opened a one-shot advantage over Højgaard, and another birdie at the last doubled the winning margin.
“Certainly didn’t make it easy for myself,” McIlroy conceded afterward. “There was a lot of self-inflicted pressure. I really wanted to get it done. I love to end the year on a positive note.
“I would have been miserable for a few weeks if I had not won today. It would have just added to the list of ones that I felt I let get away. This was an incredibly meaningful day for me to get over the line to win my last event of the season.
“I dug deep when I had to, especially the last three holes. The swings on 16, the swing on 17 and the two swings on the last – if I look back on this week, that’s what I’m going to remember and that’s what I’m going to take with me going forward.”
For Højgaard, the result was further agony in this seasonal finale yet also a wonderful transformation of last year’s form of it. Twelve months ago, he had watched his twin brother, Nicolai, win the tournament while Rasmus finished in 11th place in both the event and also in the race to win 10 PGA Tour cards for this year.
On Sunday, though he narrowly failed to repeat his defeat of McIlroy in the Irish Open at Royal County Down, his final-round performance was assured and added to his growing reputation, not least with a 22-foot par-saver at the par-3 17th that allowed him to take the contest right to the wire. As last year, his result for the week and the year matched, but finishing second over both 72 holes and in the Race to Dubai has a much better ring to it.
Unlike his fellow pre-final-round leaders, Rozner had peripheral matters on his mind. He needed a solo seventh or better in the tournament to land one of this season’s 10 invitations to the United States. He played less like a man on a quest for a PGA Tour card than a frantic 19th-century immigrant approaching Ellis Island with a high temperature and a fever. However, a stunning blow to the final green assured him of a birdie and secured not only a share of third with Australia’s Adam Scott and Ireland’s Shane Lowry on 11-under, but also safe passage toward his American Dream.
The 10 players winning PGA Tour cards (with nationality and Race to Dubai ranking): Højgaard (Denmark, second), Thriston Lawrence (South Africa, third), Paul Waring (England, fifth), Jesper Svensson (Sweden, 10th), Niklas Nørgaard (Denmark, 11th), Matteo Manassero (Italy, 12th), Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark, 13th), Rozner (France, 15th), Rikuya Hoshino (Japan, 16th) and Tom McKibbin (Northern Ireland, 18th).
Matt Cooper
