DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | At the start of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Rory McIlroy said it was not about the records – his chase for three victories in a row in this event and five overall – but about the prospect of simply savoring another title.
“I want to win tournaments, and it’s really cool on Sunday nights to sit there with a glass of wine and look at all the names that are on the trophy and think that my name is alongside them,” McIlroy said. “That's really cool.”
McIlroy may not have won this year, but he finished tied fourth, his 12th straight top-10 at the event, which almost always kicks off the New Year for him.
“I probably just left myself a bit too much to do after three days,” McIlroy commented, reflecting on what could have been. “I had chances, and I was burning the edges.”
Despite shooting 66 with seven birdies and a bogey on the final day, McIlroy finished at 12-under par and fell three short of the winner, Tyrrell Hatton. The 15-under winning score was what McIlroy had predicted a day earlier, while adding that he himself would need at least a 63 to have a chance. Three shots was the closest McIlroy came to Hatton, but he still ensured some excitement till late into the back nine.
In his preview meeting with the media, McIlroy, who seldom holds back while translating into words what his heart feels, said, “My goal is to go out and try to get the best out of myself and play as good as I can, and thankfully that’s ended up in winning a few tournaments here and there."
“Honestly just trying to enjoy myself. It’s the only part of the year I feel like I can really unwind and do that. I just wanted to make the most of the time off.”
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy, 35, has grown older by more than a decade while waiting to move from four to five major victories. Much as he continues to work on his game, he is ticking off a few items on his personal bucket list, like experiencing the “Yellow Wall” of fans at a Borussia Dortmund home football game in Germany.
“I’ve been working on having fun,” he said. “Took a couple of trips on my time off. Went to a Borussia Dortmund game ... just doing things that I’ve always wanted to do. You know, I went to New Zealand for a few days, which was a lot of fun, which I’ve wanted to do for a while.
Yet he has not taken his eyes off reality. When LIV defector Jon Rahm said that golf was in a golden era, McIlroy did not mince his words and said, “Very rose-tinted glasses if you ask me.”
He added, “There’s amazing players that play in all different tours and parts of the world and everything, which is great. But at the same time, it’s become too fractured and too disjointed.
“I would share his optimism if the game wasn’t as disjointed and as fractured as it was. You know, maybe we’ll get to that point sometime in the near future, and if we do, then I would say, I would share that optimism.”
McIlroy is keen on taking the game to different parts of the world but was not confirming anything about his plans, particularly with regard to a Rolex Series tournament in India that is reportedly in the works for later this year.
“Yeah, look, I sat here last year and said that the Indian market is a very important market for golf,” he said. “You look at what's happening next week with the International Series, you’ve got Bryson (DeChambeau) and a lot of those guys going over to play.
“India is a country I’ve always wanted to visit. I’ve never been there before, obviously I know that there’s discussions ongoing about an event that may be played later in the year. But I know that they are at a delicate stage. So I don’t want to put the cart before the horse and say anything that I shouldn't. Obviously I'm hopeful that things go the right way and that I have an opportunity to be there.”
McIlroy was very firm in his opinion about the prospect of his young clubmate Tom McKibbin considering an offer to join LIV Golf rather than the PGA Tour. McIlroy said, “I really like Tom as a person, as a player. I think he's got a ton of potential. Look, I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making. I think, you know, working so hard to get your tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.
“I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up with access to majors, a potential Ryder Cup spot, depending on, you know, how he would play.
“But if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn't make that decision. But I’m not him.”
Never a dull moment, when McIlroy is around.
E-MAIL SWAMY
Top: Rory McIlroy walks on the first fairway during the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Richard Heathcote, GETTY IMAGES
