After an agonizing 2024 marketing campaign that featured a U.S. Open heartbreak, a close to miss on the Irish Open at Royal County Down, and a playoff loss to Billy Horschel on the BMW PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy is all however assured to finish the 12 months with a giant win.
He arrives at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship—the penultimate match of the DP World Tour season and the primary DP World Tour playoff occasion—holding a large lead within the season-long Race to Dubai standings. McIlroy leads South African Thriston Lawrence by 1,572.39 factors. However on condition that the DP World Tour awards the winner of this week’s occasion with 1,500 factors, McIlroy seems to be destined to win his sixth Harry Vardon Trophy.
Imagine it or not, Collin Montgomerie has received eight Order of Deserves, a DP World Tour file that has stood since 2005. However McIlroy can draw nearer to that with six, which might tie the late, nice Seve Ballesteros for second all-time.
Provided that the Northern Irishman has loads of golf forward of him within the coming years, you need to think about he’ll match Montgomerie sometime. Nonetheless, who is aware of what skilled golf will seem like sooner or later. The DP World Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Saudi Public Funding Fund (PIF), LIV Golf’s beneficiary, proceed to work in the direction of a deal that may reunite—and maybe restructure—the game.
But, McIlroy has dominated the DP World Tour for years regardless of taking part in part-time. He’ll possible proceed to play 10 to 12 occasions on the DP World Tour per calendar 12 months, together with the 4 majors. This 12 months appeared slightly completely different, although. Not like the PGA Tour, the Olympic Males’s Golf Competitors counted as an official DP World Tour occasion. Subsequently, McIlroy may have 13 begins beneath his belt by subsequent week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. However within the six non-majors/non-Olympic occasions he has performed to this point, McIlroy received the Hero Dubai Desert Traditional, has three runner-ups, a T-4 on the Scottish Open, and a T-25 on the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship in St. Andrews. No surprise why he has such a big lead.
Genuinely, McIlroy must end lifeless final—or close to lifeless final—this week and subsequent for him to not win the Harry Vardon Trophy. Given his success this season, the probabilities of that taking place are slim to none. However on the flip aspect, McIlroy can wrap up the season-long title this week with a win or a powerful end. That may cap a rollercoaster journey of a 12 months for McIlroy.
He’ll start the primary spherical of the Abu Dhabi Championship taking part in alongside Lawrence and Rasmus Højgaard, who’s third within the rankings, at 12:23 a.m. ET on Thursday. Protection begins on Golf Channel at 2 a.m. ET, as Abu Dhabi is 9 hours forward of Jap Normal Time (EST).
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in Via. Make sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.
