Heading into this week it was highly likely that unless a spectacular turn of events took place, Rory McIlroy was going to win a third consecutive Race to Dubai title and that’s exactly how events transpired.
Just needing to ensure he finished ahead of his main rival, Thirston Lawrence, McIlroy did exactly that but in the process was able to banish some painful memories from a difficult 2024 by going onto win the tournament outright.
On what was a superb day of drama, here are some of the talking points from a brilliant day of drama.
McIlroy manages to hold nerve to win Race to Dubai title
Although Rory McIlroy has been able to win three different tournaments this season, it’s his blow ups at the US and Irish Opens that are constantly referred to and the demons that cost him those titles almost resurfaced here.
Starting the day level with Rasmus Hojgaard, the four time Major winner started in the worst possible fashion with a bogey on the first, but despite that initial setback he responded in the best possible fashion.
A feature of his week has been wedge play and once again it was dialled in on Sunday.
With his driving immaculate, McIlroy was able to flip his wedge close and posted birdies on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th holes.
Having taken the ascendancy many were thinking that McIlroy would just kick on and cruise to victory, but as he had shown on a few occasions this year, when out in front the nerves took over.
Still pin seeking, McIroy’s wedges and irons started to veer wayward and the birdies all of a sudden dried up. A bogey would come on the 9th and another was greeted on the 13th. More pain would have followed had it not been for his excellent scrambling.
With Hojgaard pulling back the deficit to just one shot all of a sudden the tournament was alive.
Negative memories of his near misses were bound to be in his head, but McIlroy showed why he is one of Europe’s greatest ever players and he was clearly determined to flip the script.
With a stunning birdie on the 16th hole, McIlroy needed just a par up the last to ensure victory but he put the cherry on too with a birdie up the last to create even more history.
So often a talismanic figure for European golf, McIlroy’s win brought in his third consecutive Race to Dubai title and his sixth in total. When asked how he felt tying Seve Ballesteros’ total of six titles, McIlroy became hugely emotional and revealed how honoured he was to be compared alongside the legendary Spaniard.
Once again, McIlroy has pledged himself to having a busy schedule next year as he bids to get closer to the overall Race to Dubai record which is held by Colin Montgomerie. Whilst McIlroy will have his sights set on ending his major drought, few would bet against him winning his seventh Race to Dubai title next year.
Rasmus Hojgaard will be a name to watch on the PGA Tour next season
Alongside his twin brother Nicolai, Rasmus Hojgaard has always been highly regarded as one of Europe’s hottest prospects.
Having missed out on PGA Tour qualification in heartbreaking fashion last season, Hojgaard made no mistakes this year.
Putting the disappointment behind him, Rasmus has now climbed to a career high in the world rankings and his second place finish at the DP World Tour Championships has seen him finish second in the overall Race to Dubai.
With a victory at the Irish Open he has also posted top five finishes at the KLM Open, British Masters and the Andalucia Masters.
Having bagged one of the open PGA Tour spots that comes with those who finish at the top of the Race to Dubai standings, Hojgaard will make the move to America next season and few would be surprised if he were to start pulling up trees amidst the most famous golfers on the planet.
A fine ball striker, Hojgaard should find himself well at home on the American courses and he remains a name to keep an eye on in the race to make Luke Donald’s 2025 Ryder Cup squad.
Despite pressures, the DP World Tour continues to have a place on the world stage
With the fractured nature of the men’s professional game, many believe the future of the DP World Tour remains in jeopardy.
With huge swathes of cash on offer across both the PGA and LIV Tours, many view the DP World Tour as the next rung down, but if the last few months have shown us anything it’s that the DP World Tour is still alive and very much kicking.
Just like the PGA Tour, the list of famous tournaments on the DP World Tour is long and prestigious tournaments such as the British Masters, Irish Open, BMW Championship and Alfred Dunhill are tournaments that still rank amongst the very best.
The fields for these events have been strong and they contain a mixture of some of the best names in European golf alongside some hugely exciting talent.
As it stands it looks as if the likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood aren’t going anywhere and are still fiercely loyal to the European Tour and its direction.
With rumours abound that the DP World Tour may open up its doors to those exiled on the LIV Tour, there is a huge potential that some hugely exciting names such as Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann may be regular visitors to some of the tournaments held by the DP World Tour.
If the DP World Tour receives the boost of some international talent joining their ranks then there is a great chance that the significance of the DP World Tour will continue to climb further still.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
